Multiocropping with coconut

[lov4farm]

Hi,
I am looking for ideas for ideas for multicropping with coconut.
The land I am looking at has already mature coconut trees (whose yield also needs to be increased but that is a separated topic).

The distance between cocunut trees is around 22ft.
The few ideas I could think of:
1) Growing vegetables below
2) Growing Papaya in between
3) growing Banana in between

Appreciate if there are any other ideas. I am also looking at some numbers (yield/acre of say papaya) to see if it is profitable to cultivate.

Thanks in advance.
Farm lover.

 

[sri2012]

Hi,
I am looking for ideas for ideas for multicropping with coconut.
The land I am looking at has already mature coconut trees (whose yield also needs to be increased but that is a separated topic).

The distance between cocunut trees is around 22ft.
The few ideas I could think of:
1) Growing vegetables below
2) Growing Papaya in between
3) growing Banana in between

Appreciate if there are any other ideas. I am also looking at some numbers (yield/acre of say papaya) to see if it is profitable to cultivate.

Thanks in advance.
Farm lover.

22ft span between coconut tree is not so good. There should be atleast 30ft.

Anyway as there are dense coconut trees, Papaya is not advisable. because papaya needs direct sunlight.
Papaya plants can be 800 to 1000 /acr and yeild 120 Kg to 150 Kg/plant.

Banana 1500 Plants/acre and 25-30Kg/plant in case of G9 or incase if any local veriety 10kg/-15Kg/plant

 

[kirti s]

Hello sir

intercropping in coconut plantation depends on the age of the crop.
Intercropping varies with age
For eg.
if the age is above 25 years u can plan crops have a straight root system so that it may not compete with the available resources with coconut.Upto 60years u can manage.
General coconut spacing is 7.5x7.5
so u can go for medicinal crops or even coccoa in this space.

dont go for banana or papaya as papaya will need light and it will be difficult to manage.Banana will compete for all the nutrients as it is a very heavy feeder.

 

[lov4farm]

22ft span between coconut tree is not so good. There should be atleast 30ft.

Anyway as there are dense coconut trees, Papaya is not advisable. because papaya needs direct sunlight.
Papaya plants can be 800 to 1000 /acr and yeild 120 Kg to 150 Kg/plant.

Banana 1500 Plants/acre and 25-30Kg/plant in case of G9 or incase if any local veriety 10kg/-15Kg/plant

Sri,
Thanks for your reply.
I will explore options other than papaya.

 

[lov4farm]

Hello sir

intercropping in coconut plantation depends on the age of the crop.
Intercropping varies with age
For eg.
if the age is above 25 years u can plan crops have a straight root system so that it may not compete with the available resources with coconut.Upto 60years u can manage.
General coconut spacing is 7.5x7.5
so u can go for medicinal crops or even coccoa in this space.

dont go for banana or papaya as papaya will need light and it will be difficult to manage.Banana will compete for all the nutrients as it is a very heavy feeder.

Kirti,
Thanks for your reply. It is very helpful. Appreciate if you could point me to cocoa economics in such a scenario. How much yield per acre and what is the typical period for one crop?

Thanks in advance.
Farm lover.

 

[padmanabhan_ganesan]

Kirti,
Thanks for your reply. It is very helpful. Appreciate if you could point me to cocoa economics in such a scenario. How much yield per acre and what is the typical period for one crop?

Thanks in advance.
Farm lover.

Dear lov4farm,

You should contact the Cadbury's Cocoa Dept who provide free sapling as well as direct purchase from you the cocoa.

Instead of restricting yourselves to Cocoa, you can think of having goats in your farm to reduce the weeds. Also, you can explore options about shade loving crops like cabbage etc. You can also look at Timber trees which goes straight and does not need much space.

Padmanabhan Ganesan -

 

[archidambaram]

Hi,
I am looking for ideas for ideas for multicropping with coconut.
The land I am looking at has already mature coconut trees (whose yield also needs to be increased but that is a separated topic).

The distance between cocunut trees is around 22ft.
The few ideas I could think of:
1) Growing vegetables below
2) Growing Papaya in between
3) growing Banana in between

Appreciate if there are any other ideas. I am also looking at some numbers (yield/acre of say papaya) to see if it is profitable to cultivate.

Thanks in advance.
Farm lover.

Pepper wine has been successful in some coconut farms in Tamil Nadu. Whatever intercrop you want to do, try in a small way before investing your money & time for whole area.

 

[kirti s]

Hello sir

Experiments have shown an increase of coconut yield in cocoa intercropped lands. Soil properties of these are enhanced by adding a large quantity of leaf titter. Age of the coconut plantation should be 15- 45 years.
System of planting
Double row system
Two rows of Cocoa are planted in 8’x 10’ apart between two rows of coconut.
Single row system
One row of Cocoa is planted in the centre of two rows of coconut at a distance of 8 feet within the row.

Coffee could also be cultivated as a profitable intercrop in coconut lands in wet and intermediate areas. Coconut plantations between the age of 15 – 45 years provides required shade condition for coffee.

Pepper could be cultivated easily in coconut lands. Pepper vines are trained on to growing Gliricidia sticks which are planted at distance of 6’x 6’ in between two rows of coconut.

pineapple can also be grown

 

[shanmuga06]

We can do nutmeg,cocoa and some specific varieties of banana like Kaveri,singhan & malaiyannan varieties intercropping cultivation in coconut gardens.

For more details:

A Sivakumar,
Priya Nursery Garden,
Karaikudi-630001,TN
9843080275
priyagar06@yahoo.co.in

 

[mukul88]

ntercrops & Animal Husbandry[/url]

You can check the above link for all possibilities of intercropping in coconut. It also specifies all the scientific aspects of intercropping. We can also see new innovations like doing animal husbandry in coconut fields. Good one. Have a look.