COCONUT
Cocos Nucifera L.
• Coconut industry plays a major role in shaping
national development
• among the top ten export produce of the country
• provides a sustainable income source for Filipinos
by way of employment generation
• popularly known as the " TREE OF LIFE"
Example Products: Coconut meat/ oil/ juice/
husk/ shell/ shell charcoal/ leaves/ inflorescence/
trunk/ roots
Harvesting and Post Production Management of
Coconut
Maturity Indices
1. Buko Production
8-9 months from flowering
2. Copra Production
11-12 mos from flowering
harvesting is done every 45 days
nuts should be partially or completely brown
Harvesting Methods
1. Using Halabas ( a sickle mounted on a bamboo pole)
2. Manual harvesting by climbing the tree
* A picker can harvest 100 trees a day using the "
Halabas" while only 25 trees a day for climbing each
tree
Intercropping
- growing two or more crop species at the same time
in the same field
- to maximize the use of land and other resource
such as manpower, machinery, fertilizer, pesticide,
etc
- giving alternative sources of income to the farmers
to lessen the burden
Two types of Cropping Pattern
1. Sequential cropping - producing two or more crop in
single stand one after the other on the same plot
during the same year
2. Intercropping - growing two or more crop species at
the same time in the same field
Five ways of Intercropping
1. Mixed Intercropping - simultaneous growing of two
or more crop specie in an irregular arrangement
i.e. without a well defined planting pattern
2. Row intercropping - simultaneous growing of two or
more crop specie in a well-defined row
3.Strip intercropping - simultaneous growing of two or
more crop species in a strip wide enough to allow
independent cultivation, but at the same time,
sufficiently narrow to induce crop interactions
4. Relay intercropping - planting one or two crops
within an established cropping pattern wherein the
final stage of the first crop coincides with the initial
development of the other crops.
5. Multi-storey cropping - coconut + black pepper +
cacao + pineapple are planted so that each crop
produces canopies at different heights
Factors to consider in Selection of Crops
1. Market for the intercrop
2. Competition it may offer to coconut as regrads to
sunlight, water and nutrient requirement
3. Ecological Factors
a. Microbial activity - ex. planting cacao between
coconut palms improved the microbial activity of the
rhizosphere, increase in organic matter component
of the soil caused by the periodic shredding of cacao
leaves
b. Increase in pests and disease
Products and By-Products
1. Copra - is dried coconut meat. it is the source where
coconut oil is extracted for many uses.
a. Oil - extracted processed/ filtered oil obtained
from copra
- used mainly for cooking but can also be used
in other purposes: moisturizer, liniment for muscles
and joints, cosmetics, medicines, soaps ad
detergents, paints, biofuels
b. Coconut milk - the liquid obtained by pressing
grated coconut meat. This is used for cooking and
making homemade coconut oil.
c. Latik - heat coagulated content of coconut milk
d. Dessicated coconut - dried coconut meat mainly
prepared for food users.
e. Coconut Flour - this is the de-oiled dessicated
coconut that is finely grounded, used in baking
2. Coconut Shell - this is the protective covering of the
coconut meat and water
- this makes a very good source of charcoal
- a very good fuel for domestic cooking
a. activated charcoal - found to possess the ability to
adsorb gases and vapors hence finds uses in gas
mask, cigarette filters, removal of bad odors from air
conditioning, freezers and refrigerators, and many
adsorption capabilities
-also used in filtering air and water
3. Coconut Husk - the fibrous outer covering of the
nut
- extends from the nut skin to the shell and
varying thickness up to 5 cm
a. coco-coir -the hair-like thread extracted from the
coconut husk by mechanical method or by the
decorticating machine
- products are coco dusts and coco-coir ( used
in upholstery, mattress fibers, filter pad,
carpets,erosion nets, insulation
material,biodegradable pots, orchid and ornamental
planting medium
b. coco dust - medium collected after separating the
coir from the husk
- very good water retention capabilities
4. Coconut Water - the liquid found inside the coconut
- excellent and readily available drinking water
5. Coconut sap - a very sweet juice obtained from a
young inflorescence
- known as TUBA
a. Liquor
b. Vinegar
c. Coco sugar
