Coconut

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Coconut
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World Productionand distribution

• Production 49 mmt.
• Indonesia (13), India (9.3), Philippines(13.6)
• Produced worldwide in true tropics (23.5 NS Lat)
  Asia, Africa, Americas
• C. Very important, necessary crop in many areas
  food, shelter, fuel, oils, soap

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Climate and Soils

• Tropical, will not tolerate freezing
• Opt. temp. 27ºC, Templt 10ºC limit growth, yields
• 3. Grows over a wide range of soil types pH,
  3.5-8.5

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Origin and Botany

• Origin unclear likely Malayasian area
• 1. Moves by natural means, water (float)
• 2. Domestication for thousands of years
• 3. Tropical origin

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Origin and Botany (Cont.)

• Botany
• 1. Family Palmae, Arecaceae
• 2. Cocos nucifera L., one genus, Coco
• a. Tall palms C. nucifera typica
• b. Dwarf palms C. nucifera nana

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Origin and Botany (Cont.)

• Botany (Cont.)
• 3. Perennial monocot, not a tree (no
• secondary growth or branches)

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Growth and Development

• Seed morphology (similar to oil palm)
  tri-carpellate (3 eyes, generally one develops
  new embryo)
• 1. Germinates via pores one shoot
• 2. Old, seednuts germinate gt young
  seednuts

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Growth and Development (Cont.)

• Vegetative growth and development
• 1. Grows base (bole) first, short
• intervals for 2-4 years (final width)
• 2. Stem (not trunk) consists of
• parenchyma, vascular bundles,
  sclerotic zones and silica cells
  strength

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Growth and Development (Cont.)

• 3. Grows from single growing point (meristem),
  cabbage - Any trunk damage remains as do steps
• 4. Leaves are laid down around stem, 2/5
  phyllotaxis Distance bet leaf scars age

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Growth and Development (Cont.)

• 5. No. leaves 1 yr., 14-16 tall, 25-28 dwarf
• 6. Leaf size 4-7m long, 20 kg
• 7. Differentiate 2 years earlier, life 3 year

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Growth and Development (Cont.)

• 8. Root characteristics
• No tap root, less anchorage
• Develops from bole-adventitious
• Primary, secondary, tertiary have pneumatophores
  for O2
• Dist. 4m deep, 1.5m lateral

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Growth and Development (Cont.)

• Flowering (begins 3-7 years after germination)
• 1. Inflorescence is a spathe
• (covered)
• 2. Flowers begin to differentiate 33
• months before opening.

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Growth and Development (Cont.)

• 3. Spathe open, 20-65 branches
• w/flowers, 3 month time
• 4. Female 1-2 at base, rest are male

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Growth and Development (Cont.)

• 5. Female flower is tricarpellate, 3
• stigmas
• 6. Flowers open after dry, cold
• season when hot
• 7. Male flowers first, then female

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Growth and Development (Cont.)

• 8. Female male may overlap within
• an inflorescence, a plant, or
  there
• is no overlap
• 9. Pollination mainly bees, also
• parthenocarpic

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Growth and Development (Cont.)

• Fruit Development
• 1. Fruit is a fibrous drupe, not a true
• nut ( non-climacteric)
• 2. Fruit develops in about 12 mo, milk
• highest at 6 months

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Growth and Development (Cont.)

• 3. Fruit consists of
• - Epicarp outer layer
• - Mesocarp husk, coir, fiber
• - Endocarp shell, very hard, 3
• eyes
• - Endosperm white meat,
• copra (dried)

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Growth and Development (Cont.)

• 4. Composition
• - Water 44-52
• - Oil 35-38, mainly saturated,
  lauric
• (C12)
• - Protein 3-4
• - Fiber 2-4
• - Ash 1

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Yields

• Huge variation in yields with growing regions, CV
• 0 125 nuts/yr in 0 20 bunches
• 0 4.5 tons of copra / ha

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Cultivars(Cont.) (2 groups, dwarf tall)

• Cultivars hundreds worldwide
• Many local selections
• Breeding slow and difficult
• Poor fertility
• Long flower, fruit production

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Cultural Practices

• Planting design (109 156/ha)
• Talls 8x8, 9x9m
• Dwarfs 7x7m (204/ha)
• Square, rectangular, triangular
• Depends on intercropping
• Most copra / ha at lower densities, but varies

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Cultural Practices(Cont.)

• Nursery
• Seednuts from older nuts better germination.
• 2. Nuts are stored to increase germination but
  not true dormancy, can be stored 2 months.

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Cultural Practices(Cont.)

• Germination beds 4-6 mo., select early
  germination
• Nursery bed soil or plastic bags, 60cm spacing
• 5. Remain 9-12 months before planting

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Cultural Practices(Cont.)

• Planting
• Holes dug in advance, may be deep (drying)
• Transplant at 3-4 leaf stage
• Plant before rainy season
• Apply mulch

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Cultural Practices(Cont.)

• D.Nutrition and fertilization
• Use of fertilizers is rare worldwide
• Too costly
• But necessary in poor fertility soils
• Increases yields 2 fold

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Diseases

• A. Viruses
• Cadang-cadang slowly dying, yellow spots,
  dwarfing death
• 2. Affects plants after flowering

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Diseases (Cont.)

• B. Mycoplasm-like organisms (Spiroplasmas)
• MLOs, no cell walls, prokaryotes
• Lethal yellowing-very important!

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Diseases (Cont.)

• Symptoms chlorosis, nut drop, reduced water
  uptake, clogs conducting tissue
• b. Talls are very susceptible, Malayasian
  dwarf-less

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Diseases (Cont.)

• Control
• Antibiotic injection
• Resistant cultivars
• Reduce vector a grasshopper

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Nematodes

• Nematodes
• Red ring leaf yellowing, nut fall, death
• Burrowing stunting, yellowing

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Insects, mites (many)

• Termites very important especially young and
  unhealthy
• Caterpillars defoliate, several species, not
  important

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Harvesting

• Most hand harvested
• Climbing 2,500 nuts/day
• Poles cutting
• Monkeys high maintenance
• Drop to ground - theft

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Harvesting (Cont.)

• Harvest at 10-12 months, based on husk color
• Harvest at 2-3 month intervals

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Postharvest and Processing

• Postharvest
• Nuts are stored 1-3 months, dehusked
• Dehusking manually, machete, spike
• Transport for processing

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Postharvest and Processing (Cont.)

• Processing - Copra
• Cracking of dehusked nuts - mechanical
• Shelling manual, ball-shaped kernel 2000/day
• Paring remove brown testa (skin)

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Postharvest and Processing (Cont.)

• Drying moisture 50-60, fast to prevent
  contamination
• Sun 5 days
• Dryers using fires 5 days poor quality
• Copra is produced

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Postharvest and Processing (Cont.)

• Desiccated coconut same as above (sterile)
  humans
• Processing oil (see handout)
• Copra dried stored
• Oil extracted by pressing or solvents
• Cake is pelleted animal feed

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Postharvest and Processing (Cont.)

• Other products
• Toddy sugar from infloresences
• Milk green nuts (8 months)
• Leaves
• Wood