Coconut - Tropical and Subtropical Fruits: Postharvest Physiology, Processing and Packaging - page 157

Table 9.3. Characteristic features of hybrid coconut cultivars produced in Sri Lanka.

Hybrid Variety Release Year Character

CRIC 60 ( Ta l l × Ta l l ) 1960 Tall in habit, flowering commences at 5-8 years after planting, relatively

hardy palms, tolerant to pests, diseases, and drought. Yield potential is
about 100 nuts/palm/year. Average copra content is 201 g/nut. Suitable
for planting in all agroecological regions.

CRIC 65 ( Dwarf × Ta l l ) 1965 Tall in habit, flowering commences at 3-4 years after planting, relatively

sensitive to environment changes, more susceptible to pests, diseases,
and dry weather conditions. Yield potential is about 100-120 nuts/
palm/year. Average copra content is 180 g/nut. Recommended mainly
for planting in the wet zone.

CRISL 98 ( Ta l l × San
Ramon )

1998 Similar to CRIC 60 in its ability to fit into different agroecological

environments and capacity to produce nuts. The specialty feature is its
high copra yield due to larger nut size. Average copra production is
280 g/nut. Recommended for all agroecological regions.

Kapruwana ( Dwarf Green
×

2004 Tall in habit, flowering commences at 4-5 years after planting, nuts are

large and greater in number than all cultivars. High copra productivity
is a significant character of this. Average copra content is 300 g/nut.

San Ramon )

Source: Everad et al. (2004).

In such instances, harvesting at 45-day intervals would be
more appropriate. As coconut can deliver one mature bunch
regularly in each month, harvesting of coconut on a monthly
basis would also be possible. But farmers and the process-
ing industry experts had concerns that harvesting of nuts
on a monthly basis might increase the percentage of im-
mature nuts in the total harvest. However, some long-term
studies conducted over a period of 5 years covering dif-
ferent agroecological regions of Sri Lanka indicated that
harvesting of nuts on a monthly basis would have some
definite advantages over the conventional bimonthly har-
vesting system. When coconuts are harvested at monthly
intervals, it is found to increase the yield potential of co-
conut palm on an average of 30%. The removal of each
matured bunch in monthly intervals, without keeping them
an extended time on the palm, could have a positive im-
pact on the palm. As this exercise helps to save energy
for the palm, it would have contributed to the reduction
of “button nut fall” (shedding of flowers). In addition, the
monthly harvesting practice may also help to reduce falling
of ripe nuts before the scheduled harvest (Mathes and
Marikkar, 2004).
As fruit setting in coconut takes place in the form of
bunches, harvesting can be done either by cutting the whole
bunch of nuts or by plucking the nuts singularly. In either
case, determining the right maturity of the nuts is critically

important, as the immature harvested nuts cannot be put
into productive use. Usually, the sloshing sound coming
from nuts upon shaking would be an indicator for the right
maturity of nuts. At present, there is hardly any technically
proven method for determining optimum maturity; coconut
pickers are often compelled to make a judgment through
visual observation from the ground. Since this is a skill-
oriented task, the success is mostly dependant on the prac-
tical experience. Coconut varieties having longer life span
grow into taller trees, and hence harvesting of nuts from
such trees becomes a difficult task. Currently the mecha-
nized systems are used to ease the difficulty in harvesting
nuts from taller trees. As a common practice in many coun-
tries, pickers may have to climb to reach the crown of the
palm or use harvesting poles to harvest coconuts.
As coconut in its tender form is a delicious natural bev-
erage, harvesting of immature coconut is a common prac-
tice in countries like Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka,
Thailand, and Malaysia. However, harvesting of tender nuts
must be carried out diligently. Unlike the mature nuts,
which possess a thick husk as protective hard cover, ten-
der coconuts might get damaged by a sudden fall from
the crown of the tree. Hence, the harvest of tender nuts is
usually done by cutting the whole bunch of nuts and then
lowering down to the ground with a long coir rope tied onto
the bunch.