• Adequate care should be taken upto 4th year from the time of planting. The following points should be taken note of during the early stages.
• The seedlings should be protected from stray cattle.
• During the first year of planting water stagnation should be avoided.
• The collar and leaf axil of the seedlings should not be covered with the washed soil during rainy season.
• During summer the seedlings should be shaded properly.
• A circle of 1 to 2 m should be kept free from weeds.
• During the end of the first year unhealthy seedlings should be removed.

• The following manurial schedule can be adopted during the early years.

• FYM : Farm Yard Manure
• The fertilizers should be applied in two splits during June and December.

• Irrigation is essential for young palms especially during summer.
• Frequency of irrigation will vary based on the soil type. Irrigating once in 5-7 days is optimum for sandy loam soils.
• The number of irrigations will be less for red soil and clay soils.

• During initial years (first five years) a number of intercrops can be raised.
• During the first three years any crop that is being successfully grown in that area can be intercropped in between the young palms viz., sesamum, sorghum, sunflower, tapioca, turmeric, groundnut, vegetables, etc. can be intercropped in the interspace during the earlier years.

• The young palms if properly maintained will come to flowering after 5 years.
• For a five year old palm, apply 50 kg compost or FYM or green leaves, 1.3 kg urea (560 g/N), 2 kg super phosphate (320 g P₂O₅) and 2 kg muriate of potash (1200 g K₂O) in a 1.8m circular basin, incorporate in soil and irrigate basin. Fertilizers may be applied in two doses, once in June-July and subsequently in Dec-Jan.

• Basal application of FYM (10 kg) + top dressing of NaCl (1 kg) 3 months after planting nuts 4.5 m² or FYM + composted coir pith (10 kg) both as basal application is effective for the good growth of seedlings of East Coast Tall Variety.
• For 2, 3 and 4 years old seedlings, 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 doses of the above fertilizer schedule should be applied. Any one of the green manure crops like sunnhemp, wild indigo, calapagonium or daincha may be sown and ploughed in situ at the time of flowering as a substitute to compost applied in trenches.
• Manuring should be done when there is moisture in the field. Fertilizers can also be supplied by another method which is as follows.
• The root activity is maximum around a radius of 1.5 m to 2 m from the base of the tree. Application of fertilizer to the entire area around the palm is recommended and the fertilizer is forked in. Sufficient moisture should be present when manuring.

• Fifty kilograms of well decomposed FYM or compost is recommended for adult palms.
• Raising of sunhemp in the basins four times in a year is also recommended.
• Green manure has to be incorporated around 60 days after sowing i.e. before flowering.
• Any one of the following organic manures can be also applied for better growth:
• Poultry manure (well decomposed)-12.5 kg/palm Neem cake-10 kg Sheep or goat manure-20 kg Composted coirpith-50 kg
• Other green manures recommended :Calapagonium (can also be used as cover crop) Kolingi Cowpea Daincha Glyricidia - green leaf manure

• The inter-space in the coconut garden has to be ploughed twice a year in June - July and December - January.
• Intercultural operation is essential to keep weed population under check. to ensure utilisation of the applied plant nutrients by the coconut trees. to facilitate proper aeration to the roots and to induce fresh root growth.
• Application of 0.5 Kg N, 0.5 Kg P₂O₅ and 0.75 Kg K₂O/palm (Urea 1.1 Kg, single super phosphate 1.1 Kg, muriate of potash 1.2 Kg/palm/year) is found economical for East cost Tall variety.

• The nutrient level in the 14th leaf can be analysed and used as an idea for fertilizer applications. Critical levels of various nutrients are:
• N-1.8 to 2.0 %
• P-0.12 %
• K-0.8 to 1.0%
• Ca-0.5%
• Mg-0.3%
• Fe-50 ppm
• Mn-60 ppm
• Application of various chemical fertilizers after a soil test for various nutrients will be more beneficial than blanket applications.

• Irrigation based on pan evaporation is recommended for better yields.
• Irrigating palms after every 40-50 mm of evaporation will be beneficial for better growth.

• Among different methods of irrigation. drip irrigation is recommended to save water. Four to six drippers per palm are placed about 1 meter from the bole, equi-distance in the circle
• Water has to be delivered at 20-30 cm depth. For this 30 x 20 cm pits have to be dug at dropping points and water has to be delivered through a 16 mm tube placed in the pit.
• The pits may be covered with coir dust. This practice will wet more area and conserve more moisture in the soil.

• Husk buried in coconut gardens, is beneficial to the palms.
• It is done in the beginning of the monsoon in linear trenches 1.5 m wide and 0.3 m deep between rows of palms.
• The husks are arranged in layers in the trench, with the concave spongy inner side facing upwards.
• Each layer is covered with soil and the process is continued until the last layer reaches upto 0.2 m below the ground level.
• The trench is then closed and the soil is worked over. Nearly 1000 husks are needed per tree.

• The area should be cleaned and planting holes marked out at appropriate places. If the land is slopy, soil conservation methods should be adopted. If the groundwater level is high planting may be taken up in the mounds.

• A spacing of 7.5 x 7.5 m (25' x 25') is ideal for tall varieties and a spacing of 8.5 x 8.5 m is optimum for hybrids.
• A spacing of 6.5 x 6.5 m is optimum for dwarf variety.
• For planting in field border as a single row, 20' spacing between plants may be adopted.

• June - July (Aani -- Aadi); December - January (Markazi - Thai)
• Generally, the best time for planting coconut seedlings is just before commencement of monsoon rains.

• Two methods are recommended in 7.5 m spacing.
• Square method - 178 palms/ha
• Triangular method - 208 palms/ha

• A pit size of 1m x 1m x 1m (3'x3'x3') is optimum for coconut.
• The pits are prepared two to three months prior to transplantation.
• Organic refuse is buried in the pit to prevent termite attack.
• In the pits, Lindane 10% dust may be sprinkled to prevent white ant damage.

• The young coconut plantation has to be protected by means of a suitable fence against grazing by cattle till the trees grow tall enough to be beyond the reach of cattle.
• This is very important for successful raising of a coconut plantation as seedlings eaten up by cattle seldom grow satisfactorily.
• 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 useful to fence individual plants with bamboo thorns, mud wall or laterite stones or provide wicker or bamboo cages.

• 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 a necessity for watering after the first or second year of planting.

• 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.,
• Th pits should be gradually filled up as the seedlings form 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 white ants and the black or rhinoceros beetle (Oryctes rhinoceros).
• The use of kerosene or crude oil emulsion, Lindane. for white ants and periodical searching and destruction of the beetle by hooking them out is 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 plantations 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 the area around 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 season, it will also control weed growth.
• Satisfactory mulching can be done with materials such as coconut husk, leaves, coir dust, etc.

• Provided all precautionary measures are taken, there should normally be no casualties among the transplanted seedlings.
• If however deaths 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.

• 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 of 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 around the newly planted seeding to break down the matting of roots of the old trees.

• Growing of cover crops in coconut plantations is now becoming more and more popular in coconut growing countries. Cover crops are those crops, which are able to grow vigourously and cover the ground densely in a short period of time.
• As distinct from a catch crop, a cover crop is chosen more with regard to the interest of the main crop than of the cover crop itself.

The following are the benefits of growing cover crops.

• Prevention of soil erosion.
• Smothering of weeds thus reducing weeding costs.
• Addition of organic matter to the soil and thus maintaining the structure of the topsoil.
• Improving aeration of the soil.
• Protecting the soil and roots of crops from excessive heat of the sun.
• Conservation of fertility by using available plant food which might otherwise be leached away.
• Fixing of atmospheric nitrogen from the air in the case of leguminous plants.
• Taking away moisture and nutrient supply from the soil, thus reducing the amounts available to the trees. This will check fresh wood growth and produce conditions favourable for proper ripening and better colour of the fruits.

• Soil erosion is a serious problem in gardens raised on hill slopes, particularly in areas where heavy rains are received.
• The loss of fertile top soil exposes the roots of the palm and creates plant food deficiencies with the result that the palms look diseased and become unproductive.
• The importance of taking adequate measures for the control of soil erosion cannot, therefore, be over emphasized.
• A number of methods such as terracing, contour bunding, cover cropping, building crescent bunds, etc. are suited to different situations.

• Mulching is the practice of covering the surface of the soil with a layer of vegetable waste material, with a view to keep the surface layer at a moderate temperature, more permeable to water and for reducing weed growth.
• Though considerable literature is available on the effects of mulching on other horticultural crops, comparatively little is reported with respect to coconut.
• The materials that can be used for mulching are husks, leaves and fibre dust.
• These materials though available in large quantities in Srilanka and other countries, are difficult to obtain in India for mulching pruposes.
• Mulching with husks upto a distance of 2m from the base of the bearing tree is being done in Srilanka and has been reported to help in conserving moisture and preventing weed growth.
• In India, mulching with dry coconut leaves during summer did not have any marked beneficial effects on palms growing in sandy soil.
• Mulching should be done at the end of the rainy period.
• Preliminary observations on the use of coir dust as mulch in Srilanka show that it can conserve soil moisture but has no effect on immature nut-fall.

• In coconut gardens where palms are planted 7.5 m to 9 m apart, the interspaces offer opportunities for raising other crops, both annuals and perennials, as a source of additional income to the grower.
• In fact, depending upon the soil, climatic conditions and local demand a variety of crops are being grown in the gardens of small growers.
• In the early stages of the plantation when the seedlings are still young and the ground is unshaded, there is no harm in raising such crops provided care is taken to see that the subsidiary crops are well manured and that they are not grown upto the base of the palms.
• It is better to leave about 2 m uncropped all round the base of the palms and keep the area free of weeds by repeated cultivation.
• Manures for the young palms can be applied in this area and incorporated.

• Tapioca (Manihot utilissima), sweet potato, banana, yams (Amorphophallus companulatus), colocasia (Colocasia antiquorum), turmeric (Curcuma longa), ginger (Zingiber officinale), paddy (Oryza sativa), ragi (Eleusine coracana), jowar (Sorghum durra), sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) and crops like horse gram (Dolichos biflorus), cowpea (Vigna catjang), green gram (Vigna mungo), pine-apple (Ananas sativus) and different kinds of vegetables.

• A well spaced coconut garden provides adequate interspaces where it is possible to grow a variety of useful crops, both seasonal and perennial.
• The period of coconut growth can be classified into three different stages with respect to growing intercrops.

• A variety of annual and biennial crops can be grown during this period.
• Any annual and biennial crop grown in that area before planting coconut can be intercropped in the interspaces till the palm covers the canopy area. (eg) sorghum, groundnut, gingelly, banana, tapioca, onion, tomato, chillies and other vegetables.

• This is a period when the crop canopy is fully extended hence no intercrop can be grown except grasses under shade.

• After 20 years, the fronds start falling and sunlight will be available in the interspaces.
• Many perennials can be grown as mixed crops in the interspaces (eg) pepper, banana, turmeric, nutmeg, coffee, cocoa.
• The crops have to be selected according to the climate of the area.

• The inter and mixed crops have to be irrigated separately if basin/drip irrigation system is adopted for coconut palms. Wherever flood irrigation is adopted separate irrigation is not necessary.

• The quantity of fertilizer recommended for inter/mixed crops should be applied separately for getting better yields from these crops.

• It provides additional employment to labour.
• It generates additional income.
• It improves the soil fertility by adding various residues.

• Maintenance of animals i.e. milch cows, poultry etc., in the coconut garden will generate additional employment and income.
• Maintenance of 5 milch cows, growing NB 21 or guineagrass in the interspace, maintenance of biogas, intercrop with pepper etc will increase the net income of the small and marginal farmer.
• Crop combinations and animal husbandry have to be modified according to the local farm situation and market.