There are only two distinct varieties of coconut; the tall and the dwarf. The tall cultivars that are extensively grown are the West coast tall and East coast tall.
Dwarf variety is shorter in stature and has short life span as compared to the tall. It‘s 5-7 metres tall and commences bearing earlier than the tall variety. Dwarf coconut palms flower as early as the third year after planting and come to regular bearing in the 9th year. The average life span is 40- 50 years. Dwarf variety producing green, orange and yellow nuts are susceptible to drought. The nuts are small and ovoid or round in shape and weighs about 85 grams with 65% oil content.
Hybrid coconuts
Hybrids are the internal crosses of two morphological forms of coconut. They show earliness in flowering and give increased nut yield, higher quantity and better quality of copper and oil. When the tall is used as female, they are called T into D hybrid while the reciprocal is called D into T.
Producing hybrids involves the following: tall as female parent and dwarf as male parent. Tall into dwarf or dwarf as female parent and tall as male parent. There is also tall into tall and dwarf into dwarf.
