Abstract

It is convenient to remove the outermost whorls of leaves on the oil palm to get better access to the bottom of the plants. In this paper, the physiological performance of the outermost whorls of leaves is examined in comparison with the inner whorls of leaves which are normal and healthy. The measurements were conducted in a three year old plantation at Bhadravathy, Shimoga District, Karnataka. The study has shown that although the outermost whorls seem to be senescing, nevertheless, they show reasonably good rates of photosynthesis. It is important to retain the older leaves of oilpalm in a three-year old plantation as far as possible