COCONUT

INTRODUCTION
Coconut (Cocos nusifera) of Palmae family is one
of the oldest crops grown in India and presently
covers 1.5 million ha in this country with a total
production of over 10000 million nuts. India stands
3rd in production in the world after Indonesia and
Philippines, although has a potential of much
higher production from the existing area. India
rank 1st in the productivity in the world. Kerala
share coconut production highest(45%) followed
by Tamil Nadu(22%), Karnataka(12%) in India.
Major share goes to Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil
Nadu followed by Goa, Maharashtra, Andhra
Pradesh, and Orissa.
Climate: The coconut palm grows well in a equatorial
climate. The long spells of hot and dry weather, severe
winters and extremes of temperatures are not favourable for
coconut growing. However, it thrives well upto 1000 m
above the sea level. The well distributed rainfall ranging
from 100 to 300 cm is favourable.

Soil: The coconut palm can grow in a wide range of soil

conditions ranging from laterite, alluvial, red, sandy loam
having pH range from 5.5 to 8.0. Soil should be fertile and
good drainage without any hard substratum within one of
the surface.
Varieties: There are number of varieties grown in
different parts, which are classified as under:-
Tall varieties :-
West Coast Tall, Lakshadweep, Andaman, Kappadam,
Laguna, San Raman
b. Dwarf varieties:
Chowghat – Dwarf green, Dwarf orange, Malayon Dwarf,
Mangipod
c. Hybrid varieties
TXD
DXT
d.Selections- Pratap, Banoli, etc
Propagation: The coconut palm is commonly
propagated by seeds. Since the productivity of the
palm depends on the quality of the seedlings,
utmost importance should be given to select the
best nuts. The mother palms should be regular
bearers giving annual yield of more than 100 nuts
with the copra content of 150 g per nut. The
mother palm should be within the age group of
20 to 40 years. These palms producing barren
nuts and shedding immature nuts in large number
should be discarded for the nursery purpose.
Planting and Season: The planting distance depends on the type of
plant or variety, soil type and weather monoculture or associated culture
or mixed culture is adopted, distance should be in such a way that the
fronds (leaves) of planting adjacent palms to do not overlap when fully
grown. The spacing maybe 7 to 8 m both ways for tall varieties. Well
developed and well grown seedlings about 1 to 2 years old should be
selected for planting. The planting should be done on onset of monsoon
for which the pits of 0.75 x 0.75 x 0.75 m should be opened and filled
with a mixture of compost, bone meal, super phosphate, well before the
monsoon.

Interculturing: Weeding and stirring the soil around the plant should be
done frequently. The interspace may be kept clean or utilised for taking
other crops, seasonals or perennials.

Care of young plants: The young palms need proper care during the
early stages of growth from transplanting upto 5th year. The seedlings
should be protected from stray cattle. During summer months, shade and
frequent watering must be provided to the young palms to avoid
casualties. The care should be taken to see that the collar and leaf axils
of the seedlings are not covered by mud, water or soil.
Special horticulture practices: The dwarf varieties are considered on
self-pollinating while tall varieties are considered cross pollinating
inter planting of mix planting be done to increase the fruit set. Honey
bees are considered to be very useful for pollination and be rared in the
viscinity of palm cultures.

Irrigation: The coconut palm requires large quantities of water for its
normal growth and timely production. In normal conditions and in
absence of rains every palm needs about 16-18 litre water daily.
Regular irrigation helps to increase the fruit set, improve size and
copra content. However, stagnation of water and ill drained conditions
should be strictly avoided.

Nutrition: To get a good yield, palms should be fertilized regularly

and with a quick frequency, Bimonthly applications are more
beneficial. Every well grown palm should be applied with 25 kg. Of
FYM 1 kg of 5:10:5. Micronutrients/Ormichem @ 2 kg/palm once in a
year should be applied to avoid any micro-nutrient disorders.
Plant protection:
Important pests are Rhinocerous beetle, Red palm
weevil, leaf eating caterpillar and cockchafer beetle
are the major insect pests. Occassionally mealy bug,
rat and slug also become trouble some. Bud rot and
leaf rot and root wilt can cause severe damage to
palms. One should be very alert to notice the
symptoms of any post and take the suitable control
measures. Close planting should be avoided
plantation should be kept weed free and clean. The
palms should be cleared off at least once in a year.
Providing a good drainage and feeding the palms with
balanced nutrition is useful to keep palms healthy.
Harvesting and yield: The well developed nuts should be
harvested one month earlier to full maturity. Harvesting of
nuts is a skilled and risky job. 2 to 6 harvestings can be
done yearly. Average 80 to 100 nuts are harvested per
tree/year.

Post harvest handling and sale: The nuts are

hardy and can be kept for a long time. Nuts
harvested at less than 9 months age will be dried
spoiled or without or very thin layer of copra. Copra
is removed and then processed for different
purposes or dried and stored and sold as dry copra.
Cashew (Anacardium occidentale)
• Native : South Eastern Brazil
• Introduced to Malabar coast of India in the 16th century.
• Grown in India, Brazil, Vietnam, Tanzania, Mozambique, Indonesia,
Sri Lanka and other Asian and African countries.
• World production : 20.8 lakh tonnes
• India : Area: 9,23,000 ha, Production : 6,13,000 MT, Productivity :
695 kg/ha.
• Maharastra ranks first in cashew production (235000 tonnes) and in
area(186.2 thousand hectares) .
• India is the second largest producer of cashew in the world after
Vietnam.
• Export of cashewnut shell liquid/Cardanol from India stood at 11,422
MT, valued at Rs 44 crore during 2016-2017.
• India accounts for about 65 per cent of global cashew exports.
• India exports cashew kernels to over 60 countries.
• Major markets are the US, the Netherlands, Japan, Spain, France,
Germany, the UK as well as Middle East countries such as the UAE
and Saudi Arabia.
Climate and soil
• Hardy tropical plant
• Grow well in areas with rainfall ranging from 50 to 250cm
• Can tolerate temperature range of 25 to 49˚C
• Requires bright weather and cant tolerate shade.
• Wide variety os soils- laterite, red and coastal sandy soil, limited extent in
black soils. Do not prefer water logged or saline soils.

Varieties: Since cashew is a highly cross-pollinated crop, planting of seedlings

is not recommended now. Various cashew research centres have released
improved clones, which are either selections from seedling population or
hybrids. The varieties are
Tamil Nadu – Virudhachalam-1,-2, -3, VRI 4, VRI (CW)- H1
Kerala – Amrutha (H-1597)/ Akshaya (H-7-6)/ Anagha (H-8-1),
Madakkathara-2 (NDR-2-1)/ Priyanka (H-1591)/ Sulabha (K-10-2)/ Dharashree
(H-3-17), Dhana (H-1608), K-22-1/ Kanaka (H-1598)/ Madakkathara -1 (BLA-
39-4)
Andhra Pradesh – BPP-1/ BPP-2/ BPP-3/ BPP-4/ BPP-5/ BPP-6/ BPP-8
(H2/16)
Maharashtra – Vengurla-1/ Vengurla-2/ Vengurla-3/ Vengurla-4/ Vengurla-
5/ Vengurla-6/ Vengurla-7
Karnataka – Ullal-1/ Ullal-2/ Ullal-3/ Ullal-4/ UN-50/ Chintamani-1/
NRCC-1/ NRCC-2
Goa – Goa-1
West Bengal – Jhargram-1
Propagation
• Seed propagation :
Rarely practiced
Mainly to raise rootstock material
Collected during March to May
Takes 15 to 20 days for germination

Vegetative propagation
• Air layering : One year old or current season shoots
• Cuttings : Seldom practiced
• Epicotyl grafting and soft wood grafting – commercial
• Also veneer grafting, side grafting and patch budding

Epicotyl grafting
• Rootstock – 15 cm
• V shaped cut is given to the rootstock after beheading it to 4 to 6 cm
• Wedge shaped cut is given to precured scion
• Scion is fitted to stocks and tied with polythene strips
• Success % - 50 to 60%
Planting
• 45 ×45×45 cm pits , filled with a mixture of top soil, 10 k FYM
and1 kg neem cake
• Spacing : 7 × 7m
• Planted during June to July
• Seedlings : 45 days old seedlings transplanted
• HDP : Tamil Nadu : 5×4 m, Kerala : 8×4 or 4×4 m
• UHDP : 4×2 or 3×2 m
 After cultivation
• Intercrops like groundnut or pulses or tapioca can be grown
• Irrigation - once in a weak from flushing to fruit maturity stage, to
increase the yield, drip irrrigation @ 80l / tree once in 4 days
• Training and pruning :
Side shoots upto 2 m from ground, dead wood and criss cross
branches are removed during July. Highly essential in HDP and UHDP

Manures and fertilisers:

The recommended schedule is
Age of the plant Manures and fertilisers per tree
FYM or Compost (kg) Nitrogen(g) Phosphorus(g) Potash (g)
One year old 10 50 25 25
Two year old 20 100 50 50
Three year old 20 150 75 75
Four year old 30 150 75 75
Five year old and above 50 500 125 125
Top working:
As most of the existing cashew plantations are of seedling progenies, the yield
level is very low and highly erratic.
Hence, top working with improved clones are suggested now.
Trees of 20 to 25 years old are beheaded at a height of 0.5 m from the ground
during December-February.
A paste, made using 50 g, each of BHC 50 per cent wettable powder and
copper oxychloride in a litre of water, should be applied all over the stump to
check any infection by invading pathogens and borer insects.
Profuse sprouting normally results in but only 10 to 15 healthy shoots and
properly spaced on the stumps are alone retained.
These shoots are grafted at softwood stage (cleft grafting) when they are about
40 to 50 days old. 7-8 successful grafts may be encouraged to grown and the
sprouts should be periodically removed.
Top worked trees grown vigorously due to the well established root system
and they start yielding about 4kg per tree from the second year of rejuvenation
and the yield gradually increases to stabilise at 8 kg from the fourth year of top
working.
Harvest
• Startsfruiting from third or fourth year
• Economic yield is attained by the tenth year
• Flowering – November to February, Harvest –
March to April, and also February to May
• Nuts are immediately sun dried after collection for
two to four days
• Average yield : 3-4 kg/tree
Cashew processing
• Roasting
• Shelling
• Oil extraction
• Peeling
• Grading
• Packing
Plant protection
The following two pests are economically important
in cashew plantations.
•Stem borer: The grub bores into the trunk and the
roots. Swabing the trunk with BHC 50% and
drenching the soil around the base of the tree with
BHC 50% are recommended.
•Tea mosquito bug: Adults and nymphs suck the
sap from the tender plant parts. Spraying endosulfan
0.05% thrice, first at the time of emergence of new
flushes, the second at floral formation and third at
fruit set is recommended.
•Die back or Pink disease: Spraying any copper
fungicides besides pruning the dead twigs are
suggested.