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Pursuant to the provisions of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of R.A. No. 7308, otherwise known as the Seed Industry Development Act of 1992, Article 11, Section 3C, the following seed standards are to be followed in order to assure high quality of hybrid coconut.

I. General Requirements for Hybrid Coconut 
The general requirements for hybrid coconut seed and seedgarden standards as adopted by the Seed Certifying Agency are basic and together with the following specific requirements

II. Land Requirements

Select suitable to highly suitable area (based on PCA suitability map). It should be outside of the typhoon belt and of the cadang-cadang and Socorro with quarantine areas.

III. Climatic Requirements

Even rainfall distribution. If not possible, location must be close to a water source for irrigation.

IV. Field Inspection
Official seed and seed garden inspectors are required to conduct field inspections as follows:

1. At pre-seed garden establishment to ensure that there is proper selection of mother palms.
   
   
2. During seedgarden establishment to ensure proper nursery establishment and management, seedling selection and field planting operations are being followed;
   
   
3. Periodic and on-the-spot inspection of pollination equipment, emasculated and pollinated inflorescences, purity test germination plots and barrier palms or trees to ensure that everything is properly maintained;
   
   
4. At harvest time, random selection of about 1 percent sample seednuts from each mother palm block to determine rate of germination and purity;
   
   
5. Four months after germination of the sample seednuts, collect leaf samples for DNA analysis.

V. Field Standards

1. Production Area — the area intended for coconut hybrid production should be at least 50 hectares and contiguous.
   
   
2. Isolation —to ensure isolation, a distance of 100 meters with at least 40 meters of pollen barrier trees of similar height with that of coconut trees on all sides should be observed.
   
   
3. Castration —for established plantation, four rows of palms around the seed garden must be castrated 3 months before the start of the pollination and regularly thereafter throughout the duration of the pollination period.  All male flowers must be disposed in compost pits that are at least one kilometer away from the seedgarden and out of the way of workers.
   
   
4. Emasculation —All inflorescences must be emasculated four days prior to the natural opening of the spathe.  All inflorescences that are left to open naturally or skipped during the four -day  period must be cut off entirely together with all receptive inflorescences from the palms within the 40 meter radius of the contaminating palm at the time that the infraction was discovered.
   
   
5. Pollination —Pollination should be done in the morning, e.g., between 6 to 10 AM.  All receptive inflorescences must be pollinated as soon as the female flowers reach the receptive stage and repeated twice throughout the female phase. Pollination is skipped only when it is raining.
   
   
6. Indexing —Daily inspections must be conducted one in the morning and one before the end of the day.
   
   
7. Pest and Disease Control — At anytime during the pollination period, diseased or pest infested palms must be treated immediately and all affected palms properly disposed (in case of Phytophora).

VI. Seed Standards

Factors	Dwarf x Tall	Tall x Dwarf*	Tall x Tall*
Seed size, color and weight	**	**	**
Pure seeds (minimum)	98%	98%	98%
Allowance	6%	10%	10%
Mixtures (maximum)	2%	2%	2%
Germination rate after 16 weeks	85%	85%	85%
Green-petiole seedlings:
If ? /? parent is Red dwarf	Zero	—	—
If ? /? parent is Green dwarf	50% of 85%	—	—
If ? /? parent is Yellow dwarf	50% of 85%	—	—
Brown petiole seedlings:
If ? /? parent is Red dwarf	94% of 85%	NA	NA
If ? /? parent is Green dwarf	NA	NA	NA
If ? /? parent is Yellow dwarf	50% of 85%	NA	45%
DNA test result	2% contam.	2% contam.	2% contam.

*      Ratio of green to brown seedlings would depend on the ratio of green and brown parents.  Figures given are optimum assuming that brown and green are equally distributed in the parental population.

**    Seednuts must conform to the average size and shape of the female parent. Nuts must slosh when shaken and free from physical damage

For your guidance and strict compliance.

Adopted: 19 Dec. 2000

(SGD.) EDGARDO J. ANGARA
Secretary