COCONUT

Harvest and Storage

Twelve months old nuts are harvested for seed as well as copra making. However, for tender nut purposes 7 to 8 months old nuts are harvested. In case of tall the nuts harvested for seed purpose can be stored for 2 to 3 months period before sowing, whereas in case of dwarfs and hybrids, nuts should be sown with in a period of 10 –15 days of harvest. On an average, we can have eight harvests, though the coconut palm produces inflorescence every month. For oil extraction, nuts are generally sun dried for copra making. In this case there is a chance of dirt accumulation followed by oil quality deterioration, nuts can be dried in various types of driers available (Kiln, electric and solar driers). Good quality copra can be obtained in short time by using these driers. Moisture content in copra for final use should be around 5-6%. The oil yield of WCT palms under rainfed condition will be around 1.7 to 2 tons/ha.

Last updated: 29-04-2008