The March, 3th 2010
we started collecting
the Niu afa seednuts
in Olomanu Seed garden.
Each of
the 54 selected palms
were climbed
to get seednuts
and leaf samples
for DNA Analysis.
All the available mature fruits were harvested; then 3 representative fruits were selected per palm: the bigger fruit, one medium fruit and the smaller. All the other fruits were husked (removing of the husk). The 3 entire fruits and the husked coconuts were kept using a bag per palm. A total of 365 fruits was finally sent to the Nuu research Station. 
The 3 entire fruits were photographed for all palms. Then about 15 fruits were selected, split with a manual saw and photographed again.
It was not possible to saw all the fruits because these fruits were particularly big and hard to saw.
It was not possible to saw all the fruits because these fruits were particularly big and hard to saw.
We tried to select the most diverse fruits, in order to characterize the Niu afa variety and eventually to discard the palms bearing fruits that did not reach the varietal standard (such as palm 44). Two of the selected fruits were rotten, so it was not possible to use them for picture.
