FLORAL MORPHOLOGY AND BIOLOGY, FRUIT AND SEED SET, SEED GERMINATION AND SEEDLING DEVELOPMENT OF TARO

Abstract

The natural flowering habit of taro was studied in a population comprising of 299 cultivars. The floral biology and the development of fruits and seeds were also determined. Very few cultivars readily produced flowers under natural conditions. Flowering in the field commenced in May and reached its peak in July or August. For many cultivars, flowering ceased towards the end of September or early October. The inflorescence of taro is a spadix type. A maximum of two spadices was present in any plant at a time. Floral abortion was very common while natural fruit and seed set was very rare. Artificial pollination within and between cultivars produced little success. Germination of taro seeds was also made and seedling development was studied. Seeds that developed from pollination between cultivars appeared to have better germination than those coming from pollination within variety. Seedling development was very slow during the early stage and their vigor varied. Some seedlings were normally green while others lacked the normal green coloration and subsequently died. Other seedlings appeared green during the early stage of development but did not grow beyond the cotyledonary leaf stage.