Improving coconut yields in drought-prone areas
Rain water-harvesting system using tractor-mounted pothole digger (left) and application of recommended doses of manures proved to be highly beneficial.
By Our Agriculture Correspondent
BY ADOPTING some innovative and simple package of technologies coconut trees in drought-prone areas can be made to record prolific yield.
"The technologies are tested well in the last two years at our research farm, and they yielded rewarding results," said Mr. S. S. Nagarajan, Senior Vice President (Agricultural Research), "J"-Farm, Pudupakkam near Kelambakkam in Kancheepuram district of Tamil Nadu.
Technology skill
The package of technologies included application of the recommended dose of manures, fertilizers and micro-nutrients in two equally split doses in August and December. Digging three pits of up to a depth of 15 cm each around the trees with tractor-operated post-diggers well ahead of the rains in order to harvest the rain water.
And installation of drip system to irrigate the trees during the non-rainy season to discharge 72 litres of water per tree every day.
"The results were quite impressive. The 20-year-old trees, which yielded less than 30 coconuts each in a year, have recorded an average output of 60 nuts a year, and some have even yielded 70 nuts a year.
``In the years to come, the average yield per tree may even go beyond 80 a year," explained Mr. Nagarajan.
Earlier, the net return from a hectare of coconut grove was Rs. 12,500 a year. Now, it has gone up to Rs. 25,000 a year, according to him.
Maintaining temperature
The rains in August helped in good absorption of the applied nutrients, and the soil around the base of the trees was kept moist all the time with the drip irrigation system delivering 72 litres of water every day.
This helped significantly in keeping the soil temperature around the base of the trees cool. The water-harvesting system helped in building up the sub-soil moisture level, and also contributed to efficient uptake of the applied nutrients by the trees.
As a result the trees were not subjected to any moisture or heat stress during the yielding phases, and continued to bear nuts regularly, according to Mr. Nagarajan. Mechanical digging of rain-harvesting pits came in handy during the labour-scarce season.
Cost factor
It also turned out to be more efficient and cheap. It cost only Rs. 1250 to dig 564 pits around 184 coconut trees accommodated in a hectare. It took only 10 hours for the tractor-mounted digger to complete the operation.
The total cost of cultivation using the improved technologies worked out to Rs. 18,750 per hectare.
With a total harvest of 11,250 nuts a hectare, the gross returns were Rs. 44,063, thus leaving a net profit of Rs. 25,312 a year, according to Mr. Nagarajan.
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