Coconut Varieties for the benefit of coconut growers

Abstract

The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera L., is a multipurpose palm grown widely in the humid tropics and in India it is referred to as ‘Kalpavrisksha’ considering that it provides all necessities of life. In recent years, coconut is being increasingly considered as a health food with tender coconut water, virgin coconut oil and inflorescence sap being promoted for consumption in addition to copra and oil. Worldwide awareness and popularity towards tender coconut water as a refreshing health drink, has resulted in many aerated drink manufactures venturing into this field. The global coconut market is expected to grow at a compound rate of 26.75% until 2020. Presently, Brazil is the world’s largest market for packaged coconut water, accounting for 67% of juice volume sales in 2010 and reportedly growing at the expense of orange juice. The tender nut water products are also gaining rapid popularity in both traditional and nontraditional areas, thus opening new vistas for coconut entrepreneurs to capture the widening tender nut market. With a focus to improve productivity and overall profitability to the farmers, research efforts have been focused on development of high yielding coconut varieties. The improved tender nut varieties and also dual purpose varieties suitable for tender nut purpose are described