Ganga Bondam Dwarf
A dwarf type on the same tender-nut, homestead line as Malayan Dwarf, quick to bear and easy to harvest. Not yet individually researched for a detail page.
Quick facts
- Crop
- Coconut
- Type
- Planting material
- Season
- Kharif
- Maturity period
- Bears in 4–5 years
- Expected yield
- High (tender)
- Suitable soil
- Loam
About this variety
Ganga Bondam Green Dwarf (GBGD) is a dwarf coconut variety (var. javanica) known for waterlogging tolerance and used as a maternal parent in hybrid breeding for eastern and southern India. A directly-fetched ICAR study abstract on hybrids developed with GBGD as the maternal parent for Karnataka's southern dry tract found three crosses outperforming the local check: GBGD x LCOT (128.6 nuts/palm/year, 22.0 kg copra/palm/year), GBGD x PHOT (124.3 nuts/palm/year, 19.8 kg copra/palm/year), and GBGD x FJT (110.3 nuts/palm/year, 16.3 kg copra/palm/year), with oil yield ranging 11.5-13.8 kg/palm/year and good tender-nut water quality (326-395 ml per nut). Independently, secondary sources describe GBGD-derived planting material as capable of 250-300 nuts/palm/year and bearing within 3-4 years — a considerably higher figure than the hybrid-trial numbers, likely reflecting nursery/seedling marketing claims rather than field-trial averages.
Key characteristics
Yield & maturity
Maturity period
Bears in 4–5 years
Expected yield
High (tender)
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
Pest & disease considerations
Major diseases
- Known for waterlogging tolerance, per corroborated secondary sources — this is a stress-tolerance trait, not disease resistance specifically, and no source checked this phase addressed disease resistance directly
Advantages & considerations
Why farmers may choose it
- Waterlogging tolerance, useful on poorly-drained or seasonally flooded homestead plots where other coconut types struggle
- A proven maternal parent in hybrid breeding — GBGD-based hybrids outyielded local checks by a wide margin in a directly-fetched ICAR trial
Things to consider
- Reviewed 2026-08-15: yield figures vary sharply by source — a directly-fetched ICAR hybrid trial gives 110-129 nuts/palm/year for GBGD-parented hybrids, while corroborated secondary/nursery sources claim 250-300 nuts/palm/year for GBGD planting material directly. This reads as an apples-to-oranges comparison rather than a genuine conflict: the ICAR figure measures hybrid-offspring performance in one specific trial, while the higher figure is a general nursery/marketing claim for the parent variety itself. Left as-is pending a source that measures both on the same basis; this record's own "High (tender)" yieldPotential field is broad enough to be consistent with either
Suitable regions
States this variety is recommended for — check locally, since a state can have more than one recommended zone.
- Kerala
- Tamil Nadu
- Karnataka
Frequently asked questions
What is Ganga Bondam Dwarf coconut known for?
Waterlogging tolerance and use as a maternal parent in hybrid breeding for eastern and southern India, per corroborated sources.
What hybrids is Ganga Bondam Dwarf used to breed?
GBGD x LCOT, GBGD x PHOT and GBGD x FJT are three documented crosses, all outperforming local checks in a directly-fetched ICAR study on Karnataka's southern dry tract.
What yield do GBGD-parented hybrids give?
110-129 nuts/palm/year across the three trialled crosses (GBGD x LCOT, PHOT, FJT), per a directly-fetched ICAR study — separate nursery/secondary sources claim higher figures (250-300 nuts/palm/year) for GBGD planting material itself, not reconciled with the trial numbers.
Is Ganga Bondam Dwarf disease-resistant?
Not documented specifically — it is known for waterlogging tolerance, a stress-tolerance trait, not confirmed disease resistance. This record's own "Variable" diseaseResistance field wasn't independently confirmed or contradicted.
What tender-nut water quality does GBGD give?
Hybrids with GBGD as the maternal parent produced organoleptically "good" tender nut water, 326-395 ml per nut, per a directly-fetched ICAR study.
Sourced from: Potential coconut (Cocos nucifera) hybrids developed using Gangabondam (GBGD) as maternal parent for yield and quality for southern dry tract of Karnataka — Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences (ICAR ePubs). editorial policy.