• S.Gnanasekar
• R.A.Sivarathinavel
• C.Vidhya
• S.Sumiya Banu

The Corypha umbraculifera L., belongs to the family Arecaceae is a long-lived monocarp tree with an extended period of vegetative growth of 40-80 years. The species is found naturally growing along the Malabar Coast of south western India and in Sri Lanka (Johnson, 1998). The distribution of the talipot palm is associated with human habitats (Dassanayake,2000), and it is considered to be rare in the wild (Gadgiland Chandran, 1988; Johnson, 1998). Leaves of the talipot palm have been used for the documentation of Thripitaka (Buddhist scriptures) (Johnson, 1998). It is speculated that this palm was introduced to Sri Lanka for the documentation of ancient Buddhist texts (Dassanayake, 2000). Over exploitation of this species in Thailand and India (Gadgil and Chandran, 1988; Johnson, 1998) has made the talipot palm rare. C.umbraculifera has been categorized as a data deficient species in the Red List of Threatened Species, IUCN (1998), while in the list of threatened and rare ornamental plants prepared by Khoshbakht and Hammer (2007) it is listed as a rare ornamental species. The limited distribution of natural population found in Keelakovalaivedu village near Vanthavasi of Tiruvannamalai district and in some areas of Kanchipuram and Chengalpet districts. Hardly any population studies on Corypha umbraculifera were done throughout Tamil Nadu. Hence the present study aims to survey and document this rare talipot palms in Tamil Nadu. Secondly, a nursery based experiment was also conducted to study the effect of varied pre-sowing treatments on seed germinations of Corypha (talipot palm). Seeds of selected species were subjected to four different pre-sowing treatments. Results revealed that, the highest germination percentage was observed 70% in cold water treatment (72 hours), followed by 50% in soaking in cowdung (48 hours). These findings will be helpful in raising Corypha seedlings in nursery.

Keelakovalaivedu, Talipot palm, Germination and Population studies

"Population studies and Seed Germination of Monocarpic Palm (Corypha umbraculifera sp) in Tamil Nadu", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.8, Issue 9, page no.c713-c720, September-2021, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2109295.pdf

"Population studies and Seed Germination of Monocarpic Palm (Corypha umbraculifera sp) in Tamil Nadu", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.8, Issue 9, page no. ppc713-c720, September-2021, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2109295.pdf