Zabak Tall as a potential coconut variety in tidal areas

Abstract

A challenge still being faced at the coconut farmers’ level is the low productivity, which is only at an average of 1.2 tons of copra per hectare per year. Apart from being caused by old plant age, it is also caused by low-quality seeds. The types of superior coconut that are currently available are still limited, especially the tidal-specific varieties. The research was conducted in the Village of Tanjung Solok, East Tanjung Jabung Regency, Jambi Province, Indonesia, from 2015 to 2018, using an observational survey, which was aimed to find promising lines of coconut that suitable for the tidal areas. The observed characters include vegetative, generative, and fruit components. The analysis of the coefficient variance was carried out to determine the level of variance and production potential of the Zabak Tall coconut. Meanwhile, the yield stability was analyzed by observing the linearity of the production characters for three years. The results showed that the productivity of Zabak Tall is at about 3.09 tons of copra per hectare per year, which is stable for three years of observation and even tends to increase due to selection activities.