Coconut

Where does Coconut grow?

Found in: Africa, Amazon, American Samoa, Andamans, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Asia, Australia, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Bermuda, Bolivia, Bougainville, Brazil, British Indian Ocean Terr., BIOT, Brunei, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Caribbean, Caroline Islands, Central Africa, Central America, Chad, Chile, China, Chuuk, Cocos Island, Colombia, Congo DR, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, East Africa, East Timor, Easter Island, Ecuador, Fiji, French Guiana, French Polynesia, FSM, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guam, Guianas, Guinea, Guinée, Guyana, Haiti, Hawaii, Himalayas, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Laos, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mariana Islands, Marquesas, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mexico, Micronesia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, New Caledonia, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Nuie, North America, Northeastern India, Pacific, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Pohnpei, Rotuma, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, SE Asia, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Southern Africa, South America, Sri Lanka, St Helena, St. Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St. Vincent and Grenadines, Suriname, Tahiti, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tobago, Togo, Tokelau, Tonga, Trinidad, Turks & Caicos, Tuvalu, Uganda, United States, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Wallis & Futuna, West Africa, West Indies, West Timor, Yap, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Notes: There is now only one Cocos species.

Status: A common and popular snack food and supplement in all coastal areas of Papua New Guinea and all tropical coastal places.

Growing Coconut

Cultivation: Seeds should be selected from regular bearing palms that produce more than 80 nuts per year. Selected nuts are sprouted in a nursery, then planted out. Seeds that have not germinated within 3 months are usually rejected. Seedlings are ready for transplanting when they have 3-4 leaves (about 1 year). The nut should be planted in a hole 0.6 x 0.6 m. A spacing of about 7-8 m is suitable. Temperatures need to be above 15°C for nuts to germinate.

Edible Uses: The liquid of fresh nuts is drunk. The flesh is eaten, and the "apple" in sprouting nuts is eaten. The flesh is grated and used in cooking as "coconut" milk. The young shoots at the top of the palm can be eaten. This kills the palm. It is fried or added to curries. The sap from the flower stalk can be tapped for the sugary juice. The oil can be extracted from the kernel.

Production: Early germinating nuts, give early production in the field. They can commence production after 6-8 years. The best yields are often produced between 12 and 60 years of age. Trees can live for 100 years. Palms can produce 15-100 nuts per year. Fruit take about 1 year to be mature. Tapping the flower stalk can give 1 kg sap/day for 6 months. For palm hearts plants are put at a close spacing of about 2 m and are ready to harvest in 2 years.

Nutrition Info

Coconut Photos

References

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