ARECANUT

Arecanut has been widely used in South and South-East Asia and the Pacific Ocean Islands. While its primary use has been as a masticator, it is also finding use among the local population in native systems of human and veterinary medicine, in certain religious and social functions. Other parts of the arecanut palm like sheath, stem, leaf, etc. are used in farms and households for manuring, packaging, construction etc.

Harvesting of the arecanut is done by skilled climbers who cover about 50 -100 palms in a day. Mechanical arecanut palm climbing device is available for easy climbing the palm by any unskilled persons. The stage of harvesting depends on the type of product to be prepared. There are two main types viz., kalipak , prepared out of immature green nuts, and chali prepared from ripe nuts. In each case, the maturity at which the fruit is harvested and the season of harvest affects the quality of the processed nut considerably.