Abstract

                                Coconut water is considered as nature’s gift to mankind due to its healthbenefits. The steady demand for tender coconut is currently met from a localdwarf from Kerala, viz., Chowghat Orange Dwarf (COD). However, there isa need for diversification of genotypes. Based on a 20-year-old germplasmevaluation trial conducted at Coconut Research Station (CRS), Aliyarnagar,a selection from Kenthali Dwarf (KTD) has been identified as a promisinggenotype exclusively for tender nut purpose. It has been released as TNAUcoconut ALR 3. The selection is an early flowering genotype that comes toflowering from the third year onwards. The average yield potential is 86nuts per palm per annum from the stabilized bearing period onwards, witha maximum yield potential of 121 nuts per palm per annum. This accountsfor 34.1% and 37.9 % increase in yield over COD and MYD. Tender nut wateranalysis revealed that the genotype possessed 5.2% soluble sugars with ahigh potassium level (190.21) compared to COD and MYD. The variety isrecommended for irrigated belts of Tamil Nadu.

Key words : Coconut ; TNAU ALR 3 tender nut variety