Monday, December 3, 2018

NEW PLANTING OF COCONUT (PART 3)

COCONUT (Cocos nucifera) are an important crop in Malaysia and few other ASEAN countries. The  crop are categorised as ''Plant of Life'' from the locals as there are many uses from this plant.  have been receiving quite a few requests of late regarding information in setting-up a coconut plantation. While I would love to write a comprehensive coverage of all aspects involved in establishing a coconut plantation, it will be an enormous undertaking, and something that cannot be covered simply in blog posts.  Instead, I will give some basics of starting a new coconut plantation, the key cost elements and man-power management al all requirements. In Malaysia currently there are about 96,000 hectare of coconut planted able to produce 650 million nuts annually. However Malaysia import 150 million nuts from Indonesia for processing anually.  Actually there are a number of important stages when attempting to set up a successful coconut plantation. Now, a lot of people may think: “What’s so difficult? Just look for a germinated coconut, dig a hole, and plant it!”. Well, that method may work if all you want is a coconut tree, or if the coconuts are meant to be ornamental plants. But for a thriving, production coconut plantation, extra care and consideration will be needed. This few series article in "Anim Agriculture Technology" I would like to share the stages of planting new coconut farms.

The new coconut planti next steps are Step 2: Setting up a coconut seedling nursery. This is an aspect in coconut planting that seems to be often neglected. After all, coconuts seem to grow so commonly and with ease in this country. For me however, as with all crops of economic value, starting the crop on the right foot is the most important step towards a successful farming enterprise. If one is unable or not willing to make the effort to do so, then they should not venture into agriculture in the first place. It would impractical for most coconut planters to germinate their own coconut seedlings, since doing this would require a lot of time, effort, space and technical expertise. Thus, it would be best for the coconut farmer to source his/her coconut "seednuts" from a certified seed producer. I have already mentioned few previously.  Usually, seednuts are sold as emergents where these would have a growing point of about 30cm height (up to emergent leaf), and very few emerging roots at the base. With certified seed producers, culling and selection of salable seednuts would have already been conducted, so the farmer may buy such materials with confidence. Seednuts will be sold as bareroots, and the farmer will need to purchase and prepare his/her coconut seedlings at least 1 year prior to field planting. Seednuts that are purchased must first be transplanted into polybags and allowed to grow to the ideal field planting sizes. The following series of transplanting steps show how this should be done:  Step 1: Place seednut into polybag half-filled with soil, Step 2: Top up with more soil and Step 3: Firm down the soil, leaving a little bit of husk exposed.

Polybag sizes should be 45cm x 45cm (lay flat), and need to be 500-gauge black with perforations. Do note that for optimized transplanting of seednuts, the polybags should be half-filled 3 days in advance and watered daily, to allow settling of the soil. Once seednuts have been transplanted, make sure to water the seedling adequately. Each seedling will require 2,500ml of water per day in the absence of rain, which can be achieved by water for 30 minutes twice a day (morning & evening) using a sprinkler system. Otherwise, hand-watering using a measured water can is advised. Spacing in the nursery should be 1m x 1m equilateral triangle, amounting to 4,000 plams per acre. But since you will only need less than 100 palms for each acre (71 seedlings if planting hybrid + 10% for supply planting; 88 seedlings if planting Dwarf + 10% for supply planting), you should adjust this figure accordingly. Seedlings are maintained in the nursery up to 1 year before field planting.  Temporary coconut seedling nursery, 6-months old from sowing. From my observation a lot of farmers don't bother with these steps; but there are many good reasons for keeping this practice. Not only will the older and more mature seedlings be quicker to establish, they are also less susceptible to stunting and transplanting shock in the field compared to seednuts that are planted directly into the ground. In particular, the root system of a 1-year old seedling is better developed and robust, compared to a 6-month old seednut. You have to bear in mind that every palm you plant is a 25-30 year investment, so make sure the first steps are the right ones, or you will be stuck with a 25-year long mistake. The article continue for Part 1, Part 2, Part 4, Part 5 and Part 6 respectively. Thank You!!.
By,
M Anem,
Senior Agronomist,
Bandar Baru UDA,
Johor Bahru, Johor,
Malaysia.
(3 September 2018).

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