b. Season of planting: Planting can be done June-July in upland areas and October-November in low lying and heavy rainfall areas.

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1 Coconut Name of crop Coconut b.common names Naryal (Hindi);Naral Marathi), c.scientific name - cocus nucifrea d. Family- Arecaceae e. Mostly grown in : Mainly Grown in : Konkan, Kerala, India f. Importance The coconut is known for its great versatility as seen in the many domestic, commercial, and industrial uses of its different parts. Coconuts are part of the daily diet of many people. Its endosperm is known as the edible "flesh" of the coconut; when dried it is called copra. The oil and milk derived from it are commonly used in cooking and frying; coconut oil is also widely used in soaps and cosmetics. The clear liquid coconut water within is a refreshing drink and can be processed to create alcohol. The husks and leaves can be used as material to make a variety of products for furnishing and decorating. It also has cultural and religious significance in many societies that use it. g. Cultivation Coconut trees are very hard to establish in dry climates, and cannot grow there without frequent irrigation; in drought conditions, the new leaves do not open well, and older leaves may become desiccated; fruit also tends to be shed. h. Soil and climate a. Soil: - Coastal sandy, loam and alluvial soils of Godavari delta are most suitable. Coconut can also be grown in laterite soils without hard pan up to a depth of 2 meters and red sandyloam soils with a ph ranging from 5.2 to 8.0 Climate:- The coconut palm is essentially a tropical crop which grows best in warm humid climate. It does not tolerate extremes of temperature and fails to come up well in places where long dry spell and severe cold conditions prevail. In well-drained soil, a high precipitation of 2000to 3000 mm can be of better advantage. If the precipitation's are comparatively well distributed, even a low rainfall of 1000mm is sufficient for commercial yields. b. Season of planting: Planting can be done June-July in upland areas and October-November in low lying and heavy rainfall areas. c. Varieties : Banavali, Orange Dwarf (Singapuri),T x D d.. Methods of cultivation- Prepare the nursery for the coconuts perplantion. Then it planted on the recommended distances.

2 e. Seed rate The quality of seed required for sowing in a unit area of land. It is usually expressed in kg/ ha. Spacing: - 9 meter, allowing a tree density of trees per hectare. g. Land preparation- Sowing / planting: Pit formation:8 x 8 meter 60 x60 x 60 cm, - Pit field with 5-6 pot farmyard manure k.fertilizer Management :- 2 kg Bonmil / SSP + 10% B.H.C powder well mixed in the pit. In coconut gardens, inter-cultivation or cultivating the interspaces is the main tillage operation and consists of ploughing, harrowing and digging. i. Interculture operations: weeding, The depth of inter-cultivation, has to be determined with reference to the depth of soil, the height of water table, the condition and distribution of the root system, etc. a.water management : The growth period of irrigated dry (ID) crops can generally be divided into 3 phases namely a. Vegetative, b. Reproductive and C. Ripening phases. Each of these phases has different stages. a. Vegetative phase: The early vegetative phase consists of crop establishment or initial stage during the first 2-3 weeks after sowing. This is followed by crop development stage which last for 2-6 weeks in different crops.

3 b. Reproductive or flowering phase: The reproductive or flowering phase comprises the period from initiation of buds to 75 % flowering. This period in most of the seasonal ID crops last for 2-3 weeks and in two seasonal crops and perennial crops for 4-6 weeks or more. c. The soil water stress should be avoided during maturity stage. Methods of Irrigation : Flood Irrigation, Basin Irrigation, Check-Basin Method, Border Strip Method, Drip Irrigation, Sprinkler Irrigation b. Crop protection Pest : Coconuts are susceptible to the phytoplasma disease lethal yellowing. One recently selected cultivar, 'Maypan', has been bred for resistance to this disease. The fruit may also be damaged by eriophyid coconut mites. The coconut is also used as a food plant by the larvae of many Lepidoptera (butterfly and moth) species, including Batrachedra spp: B. arenosella, B. atriloqua (feeds exclusively on Cocos nucifera), B. mathesoni (feeds exclusively on Cocos nucifera), and B. nuciferae. Brontispa longissima the "Coconut leaf beetle") feeds on young leaves and damages seedlings and mature coconut palms. In Kerala the major pests of Coconut are the Eriophyid mite, the Rhinoceros Beetle, the Red Palm Weevil and the Coconut Leaf caterpillar. The Eriophyid coconut mite (Eriophyes guerreronis) is devastating and can cause damages up to 90% in coconut production. The immature nuts are infested and desapped by staying in the portion covered by Diseases the Perianth of the immature nut. Subsequently the nuts drop off or survive deformed. Spraying with Wettable Sulfur 0.4% alternately with neem based pesticides can give some relief, but is cumbersome and labor intensive. Stem bleeding Ceratocystis paradoxa Exudation of the brownish black liquid through cracks on the trunk. This fluid turns black as it dries. Tissues below the bleeding patch become decayed. In young palms tissues rot internally and on piercing Chiesel out the rotten protion. Treat the area with Bordeaux paste or coal tar.

4 Bud rot Phytophthora Palmivora Basal Stem Rot(or) Ganoderma wilt Ganoderma lucidum the stem a yellow fluid rushes out. The initial symptom is the withering of spindle leaf. The leaf later dries up and droops down. If the leave is pulled out, it comes out easily as the base is completely rotten. The rottening proceeds downwards killing the bud which results in the death of the palm. Initially infects the roots. The first visual symptom is the appearance of oozing of reddish brown fluid from growth cracks at the base of the trunk. The lesions spread linearly and sideways. Mean while the lower whorls of leaves start drooping and dry prematurely. As the lesions spread towards the crown, leaves dry up and ultimately the whole crown dries up and the tree dies Clean the rotten and drench the bud and its surrounding portions with 15 Bordeaux mixture. Burn the rotton parts. Spray 1% Bordeaux mixture on the surrounding palms. Cut and remove all dead roots and a few surrounding healthy roots. Drench the cut ends of roots with a mixture of 1.5g of Aureofungin. Sol+1 g Copper sulphate in 5 lt of water and cover the root system after a white. Repeat the treatment after a while. Repeat the treatment after 15days. Also treat healthy palms in the vicinity as a preventive measure. e. Weed management- For the broad-leaved weeds, pre-emergence spraying of kg a.i./ ha for the control of grasses and sedges. Post emergence spraying of 10 ml and 20 g ammonium sulphate/litre of water. Intercroping Grow inter and mixed crops like banana, turmeric, elephant footyam, colocasia, and other vegitables etc., in the inter spaces of young gardens up to 7 to 8 years of age and Pepper, Pineapple, Cocoa and other tree spices, in the old gardens of over 20 years age. j.harvesting & post harvest processing Method of harvesting Fully mature fruits require about one year to ripen. A fully mature coconut will be dark brown in color. The harvesting methods may differ by each country. The majority of coconuts of the Coconut palm tree are harvested by climbing method and the pole method. Climbing to the top of the tree with a harvesting knife and cutting the ripe nuts down by hand is common method in many countries. This process is very difficult and considered dangerous labor. k. Post harvest processing Coconut nuts are used to make soap. Leaves were woven together into a basket that could be used for drawing water from a well.

5 The dried Calyx of the coconut is used as fuel in wood fired stoves. The fresh husk of a brown coconut is also used as a dish sponge or as a body sponge. Coir used for making mattress is made in India. The leaves provide materials for baskets and roofing thatch. Market availability: Local Market and large market also available in the India.