How to Grow Coconut Palms: The Latest Cultivation Techniques and Methods Tutorial
The coconut palm is a plant of the genus Cocos in the Arecaceae family, native to Southeast Asia, Indonesia and the Pacific Islands. In China it is cultivated in the southern islands of Guangdong and the Leizhou Peninsula, Hainan, Taiwan, China and the tropical areas of southern Yunnan. It is an important tropical woody oil crop with extremely high economic value, and every part of the whole plant has its uses. Let us take a look at coconut palm cultivation techniques below!
Growth Habits of the Coconut Palm
The coconut palm is best suited to coastal areas with an annual average temperature of 26-27°C, a small annual temperature difference, annual rainfall of 1300-2300 mm that is evenly distributed, more than 2000 hours of annual sunshine, and an altitude below 50 m. It is a light-loving tropical crop that grows and develops well under conditions of high temperature, abundant rain, ample sunlight and sea breezes. It is suitable for growing in low-altitude areas. The most suitable soils are marine alluvial soil and riverbank alluvial soil, followed by sandy loam, then gravelly soil, with clay being the worst.
Cultivated Varieties of the Coconut Palm
The coconut palm is divided into tall coconuts and dwarf coconuts, among which the tall coconut is currently the most widely planted commercial coconut in the world. Tall coconut plants are 15-30 m high with a swollen base, are cross-pollinated, begin bearing fruit at 7-8 years, have a high oil content, and have an economic life of up to 70-80 years. Dwarf coconuts are divided into three types by fruit and leaf color: red dwarf, yellow dwarf and green dwarf. The plants are only 5-15 m high, are self-pollinated, begin bearing fruit at 3-4 years, produce small but numerous fruits with thin, soft coconut meat and low oil content, and have an economic life of 30-40 years. They are mainly used as fruit, as hybrid parents and for ornamental purposes.
Propagation Techniques for the Coconut Palm
Coconut palms are usually propagated by seed. Fully mature coconuts begin to sprout in a little over two months as long as suitable temperature and moisture conditions are available. At present, the pre-nursery germination method is commonly used. Choose a semi-shaded, well-ventilated and well-drained environment, clear weeds and tree roots, plow to a depth of 15-20 cm, and open furrows slightly wider than the fruit. Place the seed nuts one after another leaning against the bottom of the furrow at a 45° angle, and cover with soil up to one-half to two-thirds of the fruit. When the shoot is 10-15 cm long, move the sprouted shoots to a nursery with moderate shade to plant the coconuts, taking care with watering, drainage, weeding and fertilizing. Generally after about one year, when the seedlings are about 1 m tall, they can be lifted from the nursery and planted out.
Cultivation Techniques for the Coconut Palm
1. Timely planting: Coconut palms are generally planted in the rainy season, at a spacing of 6 m×9 m or 7 m×8 m, with 165-180 plants per hectare. The planting holes are 60 cm×70 cm×80 cm, and 20-40 kg of organic fertilizer is applied in the hole. Leaves can also be burned in the hole to scorch the edges of the hole, and sand can be filled in to prevent ants. When lifting seedlings, the seed fruit should be kept, as much soil as possible should be retained, and the roots should be damaged as little as possible, and planting should be done immediately after digging. The planting depth of coconut seedlings should be such that the rooting part at the base of the seedling can be entirely buried in the soil, following the principle of “deep planting and shallow earthing up”. Avoid getting soil into the leaf axils. Coconut palms planted appropriately deep grow better than those planted shallow, have higher yields than those planted shallow, and are more wind-resistant than those planted shallow.
2. Protecting seedlings and earthing up: Management should be strengthened after planting coconut palms. In the initial period after planting, appropriate shading is needed, and watering is required to keep in moisture. Missing plants should be replanted in time. Coconut palms are cultivated twice a year, that is, once in November-December combined with fertilizing, and once more by intertillage in August-September. As the plants grow, a large number of aerial roots emerge from the stem base, so soil should be earthed up to reinforce the tree body. Short-term crops such as peanuts and beans can be intercropped in the coconut plantation, serving as a living mulch and increasing humidity in the plantation, which benefits the growth of young trees.
3. Rational fertilizing: Coconut palms need a complete fertilizer, with potassium fertilizer being the most needed, followed by nitrogen, phosphorus and chlorine fertilizers, but attention must be paid to balanced fertilization. When a coconut tree lacks potassium, the stem is thin, the leaves are short and small, the leaves in the middle of the crown wilt first, the upper leaves extend downward in clusters, and the lower leaves dry up and hang down from the trunk. When nitrogen is deficient, young leaves lose their green color and luster, old leaves show varying degrees of yellowing, fruit production decreases, and copra yield declines. Phosphorus deficiency causes poor root development and fruit rot. Chlorine deficiency affects coconut fruit size, copra yield, as well as nitrogen uptake and the plant's use of water. Therefore, when fertilizing, organic fertilizer should be the main type, with chemical fertilizer as a supplement, and some table salt should also be applied. Fertilizing can be done each year in April-May and November-December, and it works better to open a fertilizing trench 1.5-2 m from the base of the tree. If the broadcast method is used, the weeds should be cleared and the soil loosened thoroughly before fertilizing.
4. Pest and disease control
① Bleeding disease: Coconut bleeding disease is a common disease in coconut-producing areas. When it occurs, cracks appear in the stem, dark brown sticky liquid seeps out, turns black after drying, and the tissue in the cracks rots. Control methods include chiseling out the diseased tissue and applying 10% Bordeaux mixture or coal tar.
② Red palm weevil: The larvae of the red palm weevil bore into the trunk and can cause the coconut palm to die. For control, seal the wound with asphalt or mud; in severe cases, cut down and burn the tree to prevent spread.
③ Coconut scale insect: Adults and nymphs of the coconut scale insect suck sap on the undersides of leaves and on the fruit surface. For control, spray pesticides such as ammonium sulfophos, malathion and dibrom, and natural enemies can also be protected for control.
④ Coconut rhinoceros beetle: Among coconut rhinoceros beetles, the two-spotted rhinoceros beetle is the most serious. After the leaves unfold they appear fan-shaped or with wavy notches, and it bites the growing point, causing the plant to die. For control, clear organic matter both inside and outside the coconut plantation before March each year, including breeding sites such as compost and manure piles, use cow dung or rotting coconut trunks to lure adults to lay eggs for concentrated capture and killing, and natural enemies such as Scleroderma wasps and Metarhizium anisopliae can also be used to control rhinoceros beetle larvae.