Performance of different Arecanut (Areca catechu L.) cultivars under Malnad region of Karnataka

Abstract

Ten-year-old arecanut palms were evaluated for growth and yield performance at Agricultural and Horticultural Research Station, Thirthahalli. The study comprised of eight cultivars such as Thirthahalli local, Sagar local, Tarikere local, SAS-1, Mangala, Sumangala, Sreemangala and Mohit Nagar. Among the cultivars, the growth performance of SAS-1 was superior as it recorded the maximum palm height (8.93 m), internodal distance (17.35 cm), stem diameter (17.85 cm) and the minimum number of nodes per unit length (5.50). Whereas, the cultivar Mangala recorded the poor growth performance by recording lowest palm height (6.83 m), internodal distance (11.76 cm), stem diameter (13.08 cm) and highest number of nodes per meter length (8.64). The fresh bunch yield was found to be highest in Mohit Nagar (20.25 kg/pam) and lowest in SAS-1 (11.64 kg/palm). Both the kalipak and chali yield per palm were maximum in Thirthalli local (2.84 kg and 3.30 kg, respectively). In comparison, Mangala recorded the lowest kalipak yield (1.79 kg/palm) and Sumangala recorded the minimum chali yield of 2.24 kg/palm.