Dwarf coconut is a range of varieties of

coconut palm The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or t ...

. The use of the word “dwarf” here does not refer to the tree's size, as it can reach heights of 50–100 feet which is certainly not a dwarf. Instead, the dwarf designation refers to the size in which it will begin to produce the coveted or harvestable coconut.

Dwarf varieties

Other types of dwarfs are: (in alphabetical order) *Cameroon Red Dwarf *Chowghat Dwarf Green *Chowghat Dwarf Orange *Coconino *Eburnea *Equatorial Guinea Green Dwarf *Equatorial Guinea Yellow Dwarf *Fiji Dwarf: form a large bulb at the lower stem *Gangabondam *Ghana Yellow Dwarf *Gon Thembili *Haari Papua *Kelapa Gading *Kelapa Radja *Laccadive Dwarf *Lakshadweep Dwarf *Maldive Dwarf *Mangipod *Mu-see-Keo *N'uleka *Nok-koom *Pilipog *Pugai *Pumila *Rath Thembli *Regia

Malayan Dwarf

The ''Malayan Dwarf'' is a variety of dwarf coconut. The palm is classified based on the nut color: ivory yellow nuts, apricot red nuts, and green nuts. The palm's resistance to the

Lethal Yellowing Lethal yellowing (LY) is a phytoplasma disease that attacks many species of palms, including some commercially important species such as the coconut and date palm. In the Caribbean it is spread by the planthopper '' Haplaxius crudus'' (former na ...

disease is the characteristic that makes it to be one of the important dwarf types in the world.the Dwarf in the name is because the small size it can have fruitP.K. Thampan. 1981. Handbook on Coconut Palm. Oxford & IBH Publishing Co. Recognition of the Malayan Dwarf's resistance to lethal yellowing was in 1956 at Round Hill, Jamaica, where the Malayan Dwarfs affected by the disease was only a very small percentage.

Hybrid varieties

The Maypan coconut palm is a ''Dwarf''x''Tall'' hybrid between the Malayan Dwarf and '' Panama Tall''. The ''Dwarf''x''Tall'' hybrid between the Malayan Dwarf (yellow) and ''West African Tall'' is locally known as ''Mawa'', in Ivory Coast, Mawa is known as '' Port-Bouet-121''. There are several other varieties of coconut which have been developed by ''Dwarf''x''Tall'' hybrid process and are cultivated in India. Some of the popular hybrid varieties of coconut include Sampoorna DxT, Unnati DxT, Arjuna TxD, etc. All these varieties are a cross between tall and dwarf variety of coconuts cultivated in India. In many coastal areas of eastern India especially West Bengal, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh where weather conditions are severely affected by cyclonic storms, Hybrid coconut cultivation as a climate resilient practice serves as a safety net mechanism for farmers.

References

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Bibliography

*P.K. Thampan, V.T. Markose. 1973. ''The Dwarf Coconut''. Directorate of Coconut Development, Cochin. *Ajay Kumar Mishra, Satya Tapas, DS Rana, Sheetal Sharma, 2021. "Hybrid coconut cultivation as a climate resilient practice in Odisha to serve as a safety net mechanism for farmers", https://ccafs.cgiar.org/news/dwarf-hybrid-coconut-farming-climate-resilience-and-livelihood-security Coconuts Tropical agriculture Trees of Barbados