Coconut Palm Age Estimation

[wolf forstreuter]

 Hi Coconut Group,

 

I am interested in different ways to estimate the age of coconut palms and need literature. Is there anyone who can guide me?

 

Thanks,

 

Wolf

 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Dr Wolf Forstreuter

SOPAC (SPC)

SECRETARIAT OF THE PACIFIC COMMUNITY

[Hugh Harries]

Wolf

From a search of Coconut Time Line <http://cocos.arecaceae.com/>, an extract (slightly modified) from Corner, E.J.H. 1966 The natural history of palms. Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London.

Hugh

Coconut clockwork - "A diagram can be made to show the clockwork of the palm crown by representing the leaves as if they formed one side of the stem apex . . . If the interval between successive leaf-openings or leaf-yellowings is p days and the number of open leaves in the crown is n, the working life of the leaf is np days; its period of development must also be np days. Therefore, the total age of the leaf is 2np days. In other words it is necessary merely to time the opening of leaves, or their ageing, and count the number of open leaves in the crown to discover the apparently recondite age of any leaf. . . In the case of the coconut, which I did not explore fully, p is said to be about one month (Venkatanarayana, 1957) and if n = 30, 2np = 60 months or five years . . . If s be the number indicating the station of an open leaf in the crown as reckoned from the centre, the age of that leaf will be (n + s)p, for there are n leaves in the bud and s leaves in order of opening. Similarly the age of any leaf in the bud is sp. The whole age of the palm will be the age of the crown (2np) plus the trunk-age, plus a sapling period before the trunk began to rise. To determine the trunk-age, the number of leaf-scars or old leaf-bases along the trunk must be counted or estimated⁽¹⁾ and multiplied by p, which is the time-interval between successive leaves . . . The sapling age can be determined only by observation⁽²⁾ . . ."

Corner (1966) Extracts from p 44 et seq.

The sapling period estimated by Corner as “five years from germination” is modified in the following notes:

1. To estimate the number of leaf-base scars along the trunk, count those in an accessible stem length (x) and multiple by the measured total length of the stem (y). Allowing that leaf scar intervals decrease as the palm ages, the trunk age is approximately pxy+z and total palm age is 2np+pxy+z (where (z) is the sapling period).

2. The sapling period (z) of tall types with slender curved stems is 4-5 years; for those with robust erect stems it is 5-6 years; while dwarf types take 3-4 years.

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[samsudeen kukkamgai]

dear wolf forstreute

Coconut produces 12 to 14 leaves in a year. By counting number of leaf scars above ground one can estimate the age of a palm. add one or two years depending on the depth of planting.

samsudeen K.,
Sr. Scientist
CPCRI, Kasaragod

From: wolf forstreuter <wforst...@yahoo.co.uk>
Sent: Thu, 16 Jan 2014 12:13:23
To: "coc...@googlegroups.com" <coc...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [Coconut:6233] Coconut Palm Age Estimation

 Hi Coconut Group,

 

I am interested in different ways to estimate the age of coconut palms and need literature. Is there anyone who can guide me?

 

Thanks,

 

Wolf

 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Dr Wolf Forstreuter

SOPAC (SPC)

SECRETARIAT OF THE PACIFIC COMMUNITY

coc...@googlegroups.com - 5 Messages in 3 Topics">

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[Mike Foale]

Further to Samsudeen’s comment about estimating the age of a palm, there can be some variation in number of fronds produced per year, depending on whether there is a prolonged dry season or if there is a cool season, such as experienced in places more that 12 degrees from the equator, or in elevated locations where the overnight temperature falls significantly below 25C.

In Solomon Islands, in a situation without a dry season, latitude 8 degrees south, mature palms produced 15 to 18 fronds per year where there was no nutrient deficiency.

When counting leaf scars on the trunk it is helpful to make use of the regular configuration of the zone of attachment of the frond (a small patch where the main connection of the frond to the trunk is located) associated with each scar. If you designate a particular zone as number 1, then zone 6 will be almost directly above it, slightly to the left or right, then zone 11, 16, 21 and so on.

Mike Foale

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[samsudeen kukkamgai]

Age estimation based on number of leaf scars depends on region as well as conditions of growth as pointed by Mike Foale. Counting leaf scars in palm is a laborious process. It should be possible to arrive at a formula using height of the palm and number of leaf scars in one meter (probably at the middle portion of the trunk). The formula will be different for talls and dwarfs, some times variety/ cultivar variations also may have to be considered.

samsudeen K.,
Sr. Scientist
CPCRI, Kasaragod