Coconut

Starting Of Plantation And Crop Uniformity

Selection Of Seedlings

• Selection of seedlings in the nursery is as important as the selection of the mother palms and seednuts.
• Selection at the seedling stage is particularly necessary on account of the fact that the coconut is a cross-fertilised palm and there is no guarantee that all the offspring will be like the mother tree from which seednuts have been obtained.
• The seedlings in the nursery should, therefore, by closely observed for the various characters with a view to rejecting undesirable ones.
• The seedlings generally show marked difference in characters only when they are about nine months old.
• Therefore, it is considered undesirable to plant seedlings which are less than nine months old, unless one is quite sure of the pedigree and the quality of the seedlings.

The points to be noted in the selection of seedlings for planting are

• Seedlings should be healthy, vigorous, and robust-looking with large number of leaves, good girth at base, short, thick stalks and large number of roots.
• Such seedlings have been found to grow and yield well when they become adult trees.
• Early germinated nuts give better seedlings than the late germinated ones they are associated with early bearing.
• Early splitting of leaves into leaflets is a good sign of vigour.
• Unhealthy seedlings with poor, stunted growth and those that are thin and lanky or markedly different from the general lot should be rejected.
• If the criteria of selection prescribed are adopted, about twenty to forty per cent of the seedlings get rejected.
• Therefore sufficient number of seednuts should be planted in the nursery to get the required number of selected seedlings for planting.
• If possible, seedlings should be removed from the nursery only just before they are required for planting out in the fields.
• Studies have however shown that even a delay of a month may not adversely affect the establishment of the seedlings provided the seedlings are not damaged and planting is done under favourable weather conditions.
• The seedlings should not be pulled out of the seed bed by force.
• The roots should be neatly cut and the seedlings with the nuts gently removed by holding the nuts.
• Great care should also be taken to see that the seedlings are carefully packed and transported, if they are to be sent over long distances for planting.
• By following the above-mentioned procedures carefully, the coconut growers themselves can raise their own coconut seedlings.
• If this is not possible, it is advisable to get coconut seedlings from government nurseries.

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Planting Of Seedlings

• It is a good practice to dig or fork the bottom of the pit and also to provide a layer of loose soil, made up of surface soil and sand to a depth of about a foot (30 cm).
• Addition of about one or two baskets of river sand to the soil in the bottom of the pit is found to prevent white ant attack and induce quick root development and growth.
• It is also customary in some places to mix some ash and a handful or two of common salt to the soil surrounding the seedling.
• The addition of about ten pounds of oil cake (4.5 kg) especially of Neem (Azadiracta indica) or Marotti (Hydnocarpus wightiana) is said to ward off white ant attack.
• Some planters also add about two pounds (1 kg) of bonemeal to the bottom of the pits just before planting.
• Newly-planted young coconut palms in loose sandy or coarse soils suffer from drought during the dry summer months especially in the first few years of plating.
• Even with irrigation at the usual rate, they make rather slow and stunted growth.
• Application of one or two kerosene tin full of red earth or good surface soil in planting pits greatly increases t he water holding capacity of the soil surrounding the seedlings.
• In such cases, irrigation could be given at longer intervals without affecting the growth of the plants.
• In planting, care should be taken to see that the seedling is kept in position and nut is well covered up with soil which should be pressed down and watered properly.
• The soil should not cover the collar of the seedling and get into the leaf axils, in which case rotting of seedling may take place.
• The seedling should be held in position if necessary, by providing proper stakes so that they may not shake with the wind and thus have root growth and development retarded.

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Depth Of Planting

• The depth at which the seedlings should be planted in relation to the ground level depends upon local conditions of soil, intensity and distribution of rainfall, height of water-table in the soil and other environmental factors.
• As a general rule, coconut should be planted in such a way that the base of the trunk or the bole which is the root-forming region is well within the soil when the trees grow up to good age.
• In most loamy soils, where the water-table is not too high or too low, planting at a depth of two to three feet (60 to 90 cm) will be found desirable.
• If palnting is to be done in gravelly or laterite soils of hill slopes such as those in Kerala and S.Kanaara or the uplands, planting to a depth of even four feet (1.25 m) may be necessary.
• In other words, in places where the water-table is fairly low in summer and where coconut is grown entirely under unirrigated conditions, it is not advisable to plant seedlings in shallow pits about a foot (30 cm) deep and just sufficient to cover the nut.
• In this system of surface planting, the bole area available for root production is limited and the roots being exposed seldom function and the plants suffer much in the summer months.
• However, in low lying areas, where the water-table is very high, surface planting or planting at shallower depths has to be done.
• In such cases, it would be desirable to raise the level of the plantation by adding silt and sand every year depending upon the nature of the soil and the locality.
• In the back-water areas, which are liable to submersion during floods, it is usual to plant coconut seedlings on mounds of suitable size raised about three or four feet (90 to 125 cm) above the normal water level and fill up the interspaces with silt, clay and sand as the plants progress in growth.

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Method Of Planting

• Coconuts are generally planted irregularly except in a few cases where large scale planting has been undertaken.
• Planting of coconuts should be done in straight rows at regular intervals to facilitate the carrying out of proper intercultural operations with labour-saving implements.
• There are two methods of planting which can be recommended for large plantations.
• They are the square method and the triangular method.
• In the triangular method of planting, more trees can be accommodated in a unit area than in the square method as shown in the following table

• The square method is, however, easier to plot out and would be more desirable if closer spacing is adopted and also from the point of view of under-planting which has to be undertaken when the first plantation gets old.
• Hedge planting of coconuts on bunds or mounds raised in rice fields in Kerala, Tanjore, Godavery, etc., has been found to be quite successful.
• In this system of planting, bunds of about eight feet (2.5 m) breadth and two to three feet (60 to 90 cm) height are raised and coconut seedlings planted about 15 feet (4.5 m) apart.
• The bunds are spaced about 60 feet (18 m) or more apart depending upon local conditions.
• When two rows are planted on the bund, it would be desirable to stagger the position so that the seedlings in the rows do not come exactly opposite to each other.
• Instead of forming bunds at the outset, circular tapering mounds may be formed at proper distances and the seedlings planted.
• The interespaces between the mounds could be filled up in due course as the trees grow, in five or six years.
• By adopting this method of planting, good yields of coconuts could be obtained without much reduction in the yield of rice.
• By careful aligning of the direction of the bunds, the shade effect on paddy or coconuts could be reduced.

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Spacing Of Trees

• In most of the coconut tracts of India, very little care is bestowed on the proper spacing of trees.
• They are in most cases planted irregularly and the plantations are overcrowded.
• This may probably be due to the fact that the holdings are rather small and the cultivators are eager to increase the value of the land by putting in as many trees as possible.
• Overcrowding of trees is especially marked along the boundary lines of holdings belonging to different cultivators.
• If coconuts are to bear well, the trees should receive plenty of sunlight.
• Where trees are overcrowded, there is a tendency for them to grow tall and lanky in their struggle to get at sunlight and considerable energy is utilized in producing a tall trunk at the expense of yield.
• Also in closely-planted gardens, damage to nuts from rats may be serious as they can find easy access from tree to tree due to the overlapping of leaves and easily elude the tree-climbers in their attempts to locate and destroy them.
• The actual distance to be adopted for planting coconuts will, to a great extent, depend upon local conditions.
• A spacing of about twenty-five to thirty feet (7.5 to 9m) between adjacent trees or about eighty to sixty trees per acre (150 to 200 trees per hectare) may be considered suitable for most places, although in certain soils, under favourable conditions planting up to hundred trees per acre (250 trees per hectare) is said to be profitable .
• If coconuts are to be planted on the sides of channels or bunds in single rows, the trees may be spaced slightly closer; fifteen to twenty feet (4.5 to 6 meters).
• In coconut groves which are at present overcrowded, it would be advisable to thin out the plantation by cutting and removing the unproductive palms, especially if the plantation is young.

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Time Of Planting

• The time of planting coconut seedling varies with different localities.
• Generally, the best time for planting coconut seedlings is considered to be just before the commencement of the monsoon rains.
• It is customary to plant coconut seedlings on the West Coast of India in April, about a month or two prior to the commencement of the South-West monsoon and shade and water the plants, so that the seedlings may strike root and establish themselves and may withstand the heavy rain of the monsoon.
• In soils where water stagnation is not a problem, planting may be done in May-June with the first monsoon rains with advantage.
• This practice is popular with the coconut planters of the west coast who raise plantations under well-drained conditions.
• In some places, planting is done towards the end of the South-west monsoon rains in September or in October-November with the North-east monsoon.
• Planting in the cold months, or at the beginning of summer is seldom undertaken.
• When the sun is rather hot, seedlings have to be properly shaded.

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Care Of Young Plantations

Fence

• The young coconut plantation has to be protected by means of a suitable fence against browsing by cattle till the trees grow tall enough to be beyond the reach of cattle.
• This is very important for the successful raising of a coconut plantation as seedlings eaten up by cattle off and an seldom make satisfactory growth.
• On the West Coast of India, mud or laterite stone walls are usually constructed along the boundary of a plantation.
• Fencing with barbed wire will also be efficient and economical in the long run.
• It is also usual to fence individual plants with bamboo thorns, mud wall or laterite stones or provide wicker or bamboo cages.

Watering

• Transplanted seedlings should be watered regularly in the absence of rains till they strike roots and get established.
• Watering of seedlings may also be necessary in the dry or summer months.
• The usual practice is to water the seedlings on alternate days in the first year of planting, and once or twice a week in the subsequent years till the plantation is about five to six years old.
• However, in localities where the soil is moist, there may not be necessity for watering after the first or second year of planting.

Cultivation and after-care

• The seedlings should be looked after well after planting.
• The pits should be cleared of all weeds periodically and any excess soil washed down by rains and covering the collar of the seedlings should be removed.
• The pits should be gradually filled up as the seedlings from the stem and progress in growth.
• The seedling should be frequently examined for any insect attack or fungus disease and necessary remedial measures adopted promptly.
• The two serious pests of coconut seedlings are the white ants and the black or rhinoceros beetle (Oryctes rhinoceros).
• The use of kerosene or crude oil emulsion, Aldrine etc. for white ants and periodical searching and destruction of the beetle by hooking them out are found to control the pests.
• In localities where bud rot or leaf disease of coconut palms is common, it would be desirable to spray the plants every year with one per cent Bordeaux mixture before the outbreak of the monsoon as a prophylactic measure.
• Casualties occurring in the plantation should also be promptly replaced with good seedlings of suitable age.
• The whole garden may be laid out into convenient blocks with proper bunds and channels according to the lie of the land as the plantation progress in age.
• The plantation should be kept free from noxious weeds.
• Grass and other weeds should be periodically turned under by ploughing, digging or forking, before they set seeds.

Mulching

• Mulching the area round the base of the palm before the onset of dry weather will keep the soil most and prevent the ground from becoming hard.
• It will thus lessen the bad effects of drought conditions and promote better growth of the palms.
• During rainy seasons, it will also control weed growth.
• Satisfactory mulching can be done with materials such as coconut husk, leaves, coir dust, etc.

Filling up of gaps

• Provided all precautionary measures are taken, there should normally be no casualties among the transplanted seedlings.
• If however they do occur, they should be promptly replaced with good seedlings preferably of the same age.
• Seedlings showing continued unhealthy and stunted growth may also be replaced.
• For this purpose some surplus seedlings should be kept in reserve in the original nursery.

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Under Planting

• Underplanting in existing coconut gardens is best started when the palms are about sixty years old and show a declining trend in yield.
• The old trees may be cut down when their yield goes down as low as ten nuts per tree per year.
• This affords a better chance for the newly planted trees to thrive.
• Under planting of new seedlings should be done sufficiently away from the old trees.
• It is undesirable to start underplanting too early, when the garden is only about thirty or forty years old except in surface planted gardens which are short-lived, because the newly planted trees compete with the old trees and reduce their yields.
• The underplanted seedlings should be properly manured to give them a good start.
• It is also desirable to give a deep digging or ploughing round about the newly planted seedling to break down the matting of roots of the old trees.

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Inter Crops

• Since a newly-planted coconut garden will take about six to eight years to come to the bearing stage and yield some income and the seedlings do not occupy much space, it is quite usual to inter-crop the garden with some annual crops and thus utilise the land economically.
• The common catch crops raised in south India are tapioca (Manihot utilissima) sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatus), bananas (Musa paradisica), yams (Amorphophallus campanulatus), colocasia (Colosia antiquorum), turmeric (Curcuma longa), ginger (Zingiber officinalis), dry paddy (Oryza sativa), samai (Panicum miliare), ragi (Eleusine coracana), varagu (Paspalam scrobiculatum), cholam (Sorghum vulgare) and pulses like horse gram cowpee (Vigna unguiculata) and green gram.
• Pine apple (Ananas sativus) is found to come up well in coconut plantations in lateritic soils.
• In sandy loam soils, groundnut (Arachis hypogoea) as an intercrop is very profitable, while in lowlying areas where irrigation is possible without causing water stagnation, sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) could be profitably grown.
• In coastal sandy soils, coccinia is successfully grown.
• The cultivation of these crops, if done properly by the addition of adequate quantity of manure, is said to leave a good residual effect in the soil and benefit the coconut.
• Growing of pulse or leguminous crops and inclusion of a green manure crop in rotation with others at least once in two or three years are considered very desirable to raise the fertility status of the soil.
• Precaution should, however, be taken to see that the preparation of the land for the intercrops and too frequent interculturing do not interfere and damage the feeding roots of the coconut palms.
• It is, therefore advisable to leave a space of about five feet (1.55 m) radius around the coconut palm uncropped or even adopt strip cropping between rows of trees.

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Preparation Of Land For Planting

• The preparation of the land will depend upon its situation and condition.
• IIf the land has already been cleared and is under cultivation, no special preparation may be necessary.
• IIf the land is virgin jungle or under scrub growth, the trees and shrubs have to be removed along with the stumps.
• IBecause of the accumulated debris out of fallen leaves, termite attack might be expected and so the land may be ploughed up and a cover crop raised for two or three seasons.
• IIf the land is sloping, it is necessary to terrace it properly and take anti-erosion measures to prevent loss of surface soil during rains.
• IMethods for effecting soil and water conservation on lands not yet planted.
• IIn low-lying and backwater areas, in the south of Kerala State (India) where the water table remains high throughout the year, coconuts are planted on raised bunds.
• IThese bunds may be from 5 m to 8 m in width and are built up by dumping clay and sand in alternate layers inside enclosures made by stone revetments.
• IBunds are also formed with soil from the adjacent strips of land either with manual labour or with the help of a dredger.

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Pits For Planting

• The pits may be dug at proper distances about two or three months prior to the time of planting and allowed to weather.
• Three feet (90cm) cube pits may be suitable for most localities.
• The sides of the pit may be charred by burning dry leaves in the pit to prevent white ant attack.
• In places receiving heavy rainfall, it would be desirable to raise a small bund round the pit to prevent the flow of surface water into the pit, and also to take out the excess water after every rain so that the seedlings may not rot due to the presence of too much water in the pit.
• In loose sandy soils, circular tapering pits about two feet (60 cm) diameter at bottom and about four feet (1.25m) in diameter at top and of suitable depth may be taken for planting.
• The sides of the pit should be protected against slipping down of sand by placing plaited coconut leaves or other suitable material held in position by pegs driven in the soil.

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Age Of Seedlings

• Seedlings of different ages, right from the stage of sprouting till they are four to six years old, are planted in different localities depending upon local conditions.
• Since selection of seedlings cannot be done before they are at least nine months old, it should be considered undesirable to plant seedlings which are less than nine months in age.
• As a general rule, seedlings which are one to one and a half years old, can be considered the best for planting out in most places under ordinary conditions.
• Younger seedlings are found to establish more quickly when transplanted than the older ones, but they are liable to damage by white ant attack and may not withstand water-logging during the rainy months.
• Seedlings which are two to three years old, are generally preferred for planting on bunds of rice fields or low land situations.
• In some localities, seedlings which are four to six years old are planted.
• This practice is claimed to result in better survival, freedom from damage by cattle and to reduce the cost of upkeep in the planted field.
• In all cases and more especially when aged seedlings are planted, they have to be held firm in the ground by providing suitable props for about a year or more till they strike roots and get established.
• The best method of propping seedlings is to stick up three posts in a triangular fashion and tie cross strips at two or three different heights according to the height of the seedlings.
• Tarring of the props would prevent white ant attack and rotting and make them last long.

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