Coconut is a tropical light-loving crop, which grows well in high temperature, rainy, sunny and sea breeze. It is required that the average annual temperature of coconut is above 24-25℃ when flowering, and the temperature difference is small, and it can blossom and bear fruit normally without frost all year round, and the optimum growth temperature is 26-27℃. If the average temperature of a month in a year is 18℃, its output will drop obviously. If the average temperature is lower than 15℃, it will cause flower drop, fruit drop and yellow leaves. The water condition should be above annual rainfall 1500-2000mm, which is evenly distributed, but it can grow well in areas with abundant underground water sources or irrigation, with annual rainfall of 600-800mm；; Drought affects coconut yield for 2-3 years, and long-term water accumulation will also affect coconut growth and yield. Coconut is suitable for growing at low altitude, and Hainan Island in China can grow well below 150-200m. The suitable soils are alluvial land in Haidian and alluvial soil along the river bank, followed by sandy loam, gravelly soil and clay. The groundwater level is required to be 1.0-2.5m, and clay and swamp soil with poor drainage are not suitable for planting. As far as soil fertility is concerned, it is required to be rich in potassium fertilizer. Soil PH can be 5.2-8.3, but 7.0 is the most suitable. Coconut has strong wind resistance, and strong winds of 6-7 have only a slight impact on its growth and yield. A typhoon of magnitude 8-9 can blow off several leaves and tear up leaflets. Strong typhoons above 10- 12 do serious harm to coconuts. Conditions are right. Coconut begins to bear fruit in the same year after planting, and the peak period is 15- 18, with 40-80 coconuts per plant, 100 or more, and the economic life is over 80 years. The number of leaves that coconut trees grow each year varies with the age of the trees. Before the wet season, it increased with the increase of tree age, and decreased slightly after the wet season, but it remained unchanged. At the seedling stage, about 3 leaves were removed, and no young trees 10- 13 were produced, but young trees 14- 15 and mature trees 13 were produced. With the aging of plants, the number of leaves produced each year is correspondingly reduced. Within a year, due to the change of seasons, the number of leaves per month has also changed. The number of buds extracted from young fruit trees is less than that from adult trees, the former is 10.6 on average, and the latter is 12. In a year, the number of buds germinated from May to June is the most, and11-65438+February is the least. The inflorescence is called flowering when it is exposed 3.5 months after the flower bud is pulled out. It blooms the most in July-September, and the pistil in the flower bud is the most, and it is the least from June 165438+ 10 to March of the following year. Coconut needs 12 months from fertilization to maturity.
[Edit this paragraph] Cultivation techniques
Reproduction: Reproduction by seeds. Fully mature coconuts will germinate in more than two months as long as there are suitable temperature and humidity conditions. The method of preparing nursery and accelerating germination is widely used in Hainan. Select a semi-shaded, well-ventilated and well-drained environment, remove the roots of weeds, plow to a depth of 15-20cm, the width of the ditch is slightly wider than the width of the fruit, and bury the seeds one by one to two thirds at an angle of 45 with the bottom of the ditch. When the bud length is 10- 15 cm, move the bud to a nursery with moderate shade, and pay attention to watering, drainage, weeding and fertilization. Generally, it takes about a year, and the height is about 1 m, so it can be planted out of the nursery.
Management: after seedling protection and replanting, management should be strengthened, proper shading should be done in the early stage after planting, and water should be used to keep moisture. If there is any missing planting, replanting should be done in time. 1 year intertillage, ridging and intercropping twice, that is, February 1 1 time, and August-September intercropping 1 time. With the growth of plants, a large number of air roots grow on trunks and stems, which can be used to cultivate soil and strengthen trees. Coconut orchards can intercrop short-term crops, such as peanuts and beans. It can cover life and improve the humidity in the garden, which is beneficial to the growth of young trees.
Coconut trees need full fertilizer, potassium fertilizer is the most, followed by nitrogen, phosphorus and chlorine fertilizer, but we must pay attention to balanced fertilization. When coconut trees lack potassium, their stems are thin and their leaves are short. The leaves in the middle of the crown withered first, the upper leaves clustered downwards, and the lower leaves withered and hung down from the trunk. Under the condition of nitrogen deficiency, young leaves lose their green and luster, old leaves age in different degrees and yield decreases. Phosphorus deficiency will lead to poor root development and excessive decay; Chlorine deficiency will affect the size of coconut, nitrogen absorption and water utilization of plants. Therefore, when applying fertilizer, we should give priority to organic fertilizer, supplemented by chemical fertilizer, and apply some salt. Fertilization can be carried out in April-May and June1-65438+February every year, and the fertilization ditch is opened at the distance of 1.5-2 meters from the tree base, which has good effect. If the sowing method is used, weed and loosen the soil comprehensively before fertilization.
[Edit this paragraph] Coconut varieties
Coconut cultivation has a long history, and many types and varieties have been formed in long-term natural selection and artificial selection. In recent years, from the perspective of cultivated varieties, it is considered that there are wild species and cultivated species, and cultivated species can be divided into high species, short species and hybrid species.
Introduction of improved coconut: This variety is the largest commercial coconut planted in the world at present. The plant is tall and stout, with a trunk diameter of 90- 120 cm and a tree height of more than 20m. The base of the stem is enlarged, which is called "gourd head". The crown is round, semi-circular and Y-shaped, and consists of 30-40 leaves; The leaves are 5-6 meters long. It bears fruit late, blooms and bears fruit 7-8 years after planting, and its economic life span is 60-80 years, and its natural life span is as long as 100 years. Male and female are in the same order, with different flowering periods. First open male flowers, then female flowers, cross pollination. All plants are heterozygotes. Coconut is relatively large, and desiccated coconut has a high quality rate. The output of desiccated coconut is1-1.5t/ha.
1. According to the color difference between leaves and fruits, high-grade coconuts can be divided into red coconuts and green coconuts. According to the fruit shape and volume, high-grade coconuts can be divided into three types: large round fruit, medium round fruit and small round fruit.
(1) big round fruit: fruit circumference is 70-90cm, single fruit weight is 2.4-3. 1kg, coconut weight is 0.49-0.63kg, coconut water weight is 0.74- 1. 15kg, and coconut shell weight is 0.32. This is rare in higher species.
(2) Medium round fruit: the circumference of the fruit is 60-70 cm, the weight of a single fruit is 1.87-2.0 kg, the weight of coconut meat is 0.39-0.42 kg, the weight of coconut is 0.4 1-0.45 kg, the weight of coconut shell is 0.24-0.26 kg, and the fruit is round and oval. The yield is medium, which is the largest among high-grade coconuts.
(3) Small round fruit: fruit circumference is 50-60 cm, fruit weight is 1- 1.5 kg, coconut meat weight is 0.25-0.30 kg, and coconut water weight is 0.55 kg. Fruits are round and oval. High yield and small quantity.
2. Special type of tall coconut:
(1) Male tree (male and female sterility) is also called super dominant male tree: it is characterized by incomplete feather splitting of coconut leaves. 4-5 leaflets are bonded together. Leaflets are about 7 cm wide (normal 4-5 cm), leaves are 400 cm long (normal 450-500 cm), and inflorescences are 70-90 cm (normal 1 10- 120 cm). There are many male flowers and few or no female flowers.
(2) Female plants (male sterility): the inflorescence is 40-80cm shorter, the floral axis is shorter 17-25cm (normal 40cm), the number of flower branches is less 15- 17 (normal 36-40), and the flower branches are shorter1.
(3) Coconut trees with many female flowers: characterized by a large number of female flowers in inflorescences, there are 65,438+004-265,438+04 female flowers in each inflorescence, and there are 7-65,438+02 female flowers in each flower branch, which is 3-4 times more than normal high-grade coconut trees. The flower branches and inflorescences are short, the number of male flowers is small and the yield is low.
(4) Multi-layer bud coconut tree: The buds of Buddha flame are double-layer (normal single-layer), some are as long as the double-layer buds, some are as long as one layer, and the leaves, inflorescences and flower branches are all short, which is very different from one plant.
(5) Multi-layer bud coconut tree: the spathe is multi-layer, the inflorescence is short, 80 cm, and the flower branches are multi-layer branched (normally unbranched). After the inflorescence dries up, it does not fall off with the dead leaves, and the trunk is covered with residual inflorescences, some of which are all male flowers and some are bisexual flowers, with low yield and few flowers.
(6) Early-maturing coconut: the seedling blooms when it is only 3-4 months old, the height of the seedling is about 40 cm, and the leaves are about 65,438+00, all of which are boat-shaped leaves (no feathers). The inflorescence is drawn from the center, and the male and female are in the same order. Both female and male plants are smaller than normal, and the plants die soon after flowering and cannot reproduce.
(7) Multi-embryo coconut seedlings: Normal coconuts have only one embryo to develop into seedlings, but some coconuts have more than two embryos to develop into seedlings. Twin seedlings are common, 4-6 seedlings are rare, and there are more than 20 seedlings at most, which is really rare.
The highest height of high-grade coconut is 25 meters, and the highest height of low-grade coconut is only about 15 meters. The economic life of high-species coconuts is much longer than that of short-species coconuts: the economic life of high-species coconuts is about 80 years, while that of short-species coconuts is only about 20-40 years. However, dwarf coconuts bear fruit early and have high yield: dwarf coconuts can blossom and bear fruit in 3-4 years, with an annual output of about 80/tree, while tall coconuts can blossom and bear fruit in 6-8 years, with an annual output of about 40-60/tree. Hybrid coconut absorbs the advantages of high and low kinds of coconut and has the characteristics of short, long and high yield. The annual output of hybrid coconut is about per plant 180-200. In addition, hybrid coconut has strong wind resistance and insect resistance.
[Edit this paragraph] Geographical distribution
Coconut is an ancient cultivated crop. There are different opinions about its origin, some say it is produced in South America, some say it is produced in tropical islands of Asia, but most people think it originated in the Malay Archipelago. Now it is widely distributed in tropical coastal and inland areas of Asia, Africa, Oceania and America. It is mainly distributed between 20 north and south latitudes, especially in equatorial coastal areas. Secondly, there is also a large area distribution in the range of 20-23.5 degrees north and south latitude. Coconut has been planted in China for more than 2000 years. At present, it is mainly distributed in all parts of Hainan, with a few in southern Taiwan Province Province, Leizhou Peninsula in Guangdong, Xishuangbanna in Yunnan, Dehong, Baoshan and Hekou.
[Edit this paragraph] Nutritional value
The water content of coconut milk and coconut meat is protein, fructose, glucose, sucrose, fat, vitamin B 1, vitamin E, vitamin C, potassium, calcium and magnesium. Coconut meat is as white as jade, fragrant and crisp; Coconut juice is cold and sweet. Coconut meat and coconut juice are delicious fruits for all ages.
[Edit this paragraph] Therapeutic effect
Coconut is sweet and flat, and enters the stomach, spleen and large intestine; The pulp has the effects of tonifying deficiency, strengthening body resistance, invigorating qi, expelling pathogenic wind, eliminating malnutrition and killing insects. Long-term consumption can moisten the face, benefit people's strength and resist hunger, and treat filariasis and Jiang Ye's disease in children. Coconut water has the effects of nourishing, clearing away heat and relieving summer heat, and quenching thirst, and is mainly used for thirst caused by summer heat and body fluid deficiency; Coconut shell oil cures tinea and bayberry sore.
[Edit this paragraph] Feed value
Coconut as feed is mainly coconut cake left after coconut oil is pressed. Generally, each coconut can produce 0. 18kg dry coconut, and extract 0. 1 1kg oil to obtain 0.055kg coconut oil cake. Feeding livestock with coconut oil cake needs to be gradually added to their diet, and livestock love it after they get used to it. The feeding dose of dairy cows is 1.5-2.0kg/ day. Feeding coconut oil cake can increase the milk fat content of dairy cows. It is best to add 25% to the pig's diet. In addition, coconut leaves and dried coconuts are also very popular with domestic animals, but they are generally not used as feed. Fresh coconut water can be used as an ingredient of artificial insemination to dilute the semen of livestock.
[Edit this paragraph] Medicinal value
Use pulp juice and shell as medicine. When the fruit is ripe, put it away and take the gravy and the shell for use at any time.
Coconut is sweet and flat.
Functions and indications: the pulp juice can tonify deficiency, promote fluid production, induce diuresis and kill insects, and is used for edema of heart water, thirst and ginger worms; The shell has the effects of expelling pathogenic wind, promoting diuresis and relieving itching, and can be used for external treatment of tinea corporis and tinea pedis.
Usage and dosage: appropriate amount of coconut milk or coconut meat; Put the coconut shell on the stove for external use, cover the bowl to collect steam, condense to obtain distillate oil, add 30% alcohol and mix well, and apply it to the affected area.
Remarks: Coconut grown for 9 months has been used as a substitute for intravenous infusion in emergency.
Chemical constituents of traditional Chinese medicine:
Coconut contains 35%-45% oil. The oil contains free fatty acids 20%, capric acid 2%, palmitic acid, octanoic acid 9%, capric acid, oleic acid 2% and lauric acid. It also contains stigmasterol, stigmasterol, fucosterol, α-spinach sterol and sterol. Carbohydrate is about 15%, mainly stachyose, sucrose and glucose. Protein is less than 5%, including albumin, globulin, preamine, etc. Contains vitamin B 1 173μg%, B5 103μg%, trace B2, 700 μ g% α-tocopherol and 250 μ g% γ-tocopherol. The content of vitamin C in immature fruits is high. This kind of stone contains mannan.
[Edit this paragraph] The application of coconut
Trees themselves are excellent garden trees, which can be used as street trees, landscape trees and courtyard trees reflecting tropical and subtropical scenery.
Coconut fiber: It has many uses, such as fillers, brooms, brushes and offshore cables. Especially in horticulture, insulation, corrosion control and agriculture. Because of its super water absorption, it is more effective than plastic and iron wire in corrosion protection, and it can also provide a growing environment for vegetables and trees. In the United States, Germany, Japan and Europe, it has been used to cover dams.
Coconut wood: hard texture and beautiful patterns can be used as furniture and building materials.
Coconut leaf: it can be used for weaving, making daily necessities and daily fuel.
Coconut bud: Coconut flower juice can be cut to brew coconut wine or extract coconut juice sugar.
Coconut shell: hard texture, cold and hot deformation, can be made into high-quality activated carbon, or processed into coconut carvings, musical instruments and other handicrafts.
Coconut meat: It can be made into desiccated coconut, coconut milk powder, coconut protein, coconut juice, coconut milk and colorless coconut oil.
Coconut water: containing vitamins B and C, hormones, sugar and other ingredients, it is a natural refreshing drink and can also be used to process other foods.
Coconut oil: mainly industrial oil, it is a high-quality raw material for making soap, with strong foaming power, and can be used to make high-grade soap and toothpaste.
Health care function of coconut
Coconut has a wide range of uses and is known as the "tree of life" and "treasure tree". It tastes sweet and cold, and contains protein, sugar, vitamin C, calcium and potassium. Coconut is rich in juice and nutrition, which can quench thirst and relieve summer heat, promote fluid production and diuresis, and treat fever. Its pulp has the effects of benefiting qi, expelling wind, expelling toxin and caring skin. Mature coconut meat is rich in protein and fat, and is often made into canned food, desiccated coconut, etc. Although coconut milk contains high potassium, it also contains high magnesium, which can increase the human body's tolerance to potassium. It is effective in treating gastroenteritis and dehydration.
Nutritional value of coconut
Coconut is the fruit of coconut tree and an important tropical woody oil crop. Coconut originated in Southeast Asia and Central America, and is currently cultivated in more than 80 tropical countries around the world, especially the Philippines, India, Malaysia and Sri Lanka. Many provinces in southern China are also cultivated, among which coconut in Hainan Province is the most famous. Coconut has become a symbol of Hainan, and Hainan Island is also called "Coconut Island".
Coconuts grow at the roots of leaves. A coconut tree can generally bear more than a dozen coconuts, and each string can bear one or twenty fruits. Coconut fruit is drupe, generally oval or oval, and some are triangular. Immature coconuts are turquoise and dark brown when mature. A mature medium-sized coconut fruit has 1500-2000 grams. Coconut skin is thick, smooth and soft, which can protect the fruit from being broken when it falls to the ground and prevent the invasion of water. When you eat coconut, you should peel off the skin and remove the hard shell first. There are several white spots on the hard shell, poke them open, suck coconut juice with a straw, and then scrape off the white pulp with a knife. It tastes better after freezing. Moreover, there is a lot of knowledge about eating coconuts. For example, the taste of coconut juice changes when it leaves the coconut shell. Coconut juice poured out in the morning is sweeter and lighter in the afternoon. Fresh coconut juice is "clear as water and sweet as honey", which is cool and sweet after drinking, delicious, unique in flavor and high in nutritional value. It is the best drink to relieve summer heat. Coconut meat is fragrant, smooth and crisp. Besides being eaten as fruit, it can also be made into dishes or candied fruit: Hainan people often use Hainan high-quality glutinous rice, natural coconut meat and coconut juice to make "coconut rice", also known as "coconut boat". Other dishes made of coconut include: coconut stewed chicken, Qiongzhou coconut cup and so on.
Coconut has high nutritional value. Chinese medicine believes that coconut meat is sweet and flat, and has the effects of invigorating spleen and stomach, killing insects and eliminating malnutrition; Coconut juice is sweet and warm, which has the effect of promoting body fluid and benefiting water. Modern medical research shows that coconut meat contains protein and carbohydrates; Coconut oil contains sugar, vitamin B 1, vitamin B2, vitamin C and so on. Coconut juice contains many nutrients, such as sugar, glucose, sucrose, protein, fat, vitamin B, vitamin C and trace elements and minerals such as calcium, phosphorus and iron. It can be seen that coconut is a good product for both medicine and food. When the spleen and stomach are tired, the appetite is poor, the limbs are weak, and the body is weak, the coconut meat is chopped, and a proper amount of chicken and glutinous rice are added, and the effect is better after steaming, because chicken, glutinous rice and coconut meat are nourishing, and the nourishing effect is more obvious when treated by stewing soup; Coconut and winter melon seeds can diarrhea lung fire; Adding cool snow meat or nourishing yellow ear can neutralize the warmth and dryness of coconut; When you have a cold and cough, you might as well eat coconut meat to relieve cough and resolve phlegm. People who are full of heat in the body should not eat coconuts; If you sleep for a long time at night, love to eat fried food, easily lose your temper and get thirsty, remember not to eat more coconuts.
Besides its fruit, coconut has many other functions: coconut shell can be used to burn activated carbon or process coconut carvings and musical instruments; Dried coconut can be processed into coconut oil; Coconut wood is hard and beautiful, and can be used as furniture or building materials. There are more than 360 kinds of coconut comprehensive utilization products, which are called "precious trees" and "Tree of Life" abroad.
[Edit this paragraph] Documentary records
Materia Medica of Haiyao: "Cure thirst, vomiting blood and edema, and remove wind and heat."
Seeking the grassland: "Cure evil wind, cold and evil heat."
Compendium of Materia Medica: "Coconut is sweet, flat, non-toxic, beneficial to qi, cures wind, and is not hungry, which makes people relaxed and happy." Coconut pulp is sweet in taste, warm in nature, non-toxic, quenches thirst, wipes the head, blackens it, treats hematemesis and edema, and removes wind and heat. "
National Collection of Chinese Herbal Medicines: "Tonifying deficiency, promoting fluid production, diuresis and killing insects. Indications: cardiogenic edema, dry mouth and excessive drinking, ginger tablets. "
Close. "Drunk Hometown Spring": "The social urn is a smile, and the coconut spoon is lacking."
Huang Songting Jian. Coconut: "Milk wine makes people drunk, and meat carries goose fat on the guest plate."
Folklore: According to legend, the King of Lin Yi and the King of Yue were enemies, which made the assassin drunk, took his head, hung it on a tree and turned it into a coconut. Its core still has two eyes, so it is commonly known as the king's head, and its flesh is like wine.
[Edit this paragraph] Postscript
Coconut is a treasure in tropical areas, which contains a lot of fat and protein. Picking ripe coconuts from trees at will can provide a good nutritious meal. The biggest misunderstanding of coconut is that it is wet. In fact, coconut meat is warm, which can replenish yang fire and strengthen the body. It is most suitable for people with weak body, weak limbs and easy fatigue, especially coconut glutinous rice stewed chicken, which has a particularly good effect, because coconut meat, glutinous rice and chicken are nourishing, and the nourishing effect is more obvious when stewed and processed.
However, it is still an old saying that people who are full of calories should not eat coconuts often. If you sleep at night for a long time, you like to eat delicious fried food, and you are prone to lose your temper and thirst. Remember not to eat more coconuts. In addition, the sea coconut, which has always been famous for its freshness, is actually the same as the temperate zone.
If you really love coconut fragrance, you can choose cool coconut water to cool off the heat, or add other ingredients to balance when making coconut dessert, such as Adenophora adenophora, lily, Dendrobium, etc., which can clear away heat and nourish yin; Adding winter melon seeds can purge lung fire; Adding cool tremella or clear yellow ear can neutralize the dryness of coconut.
People used to think that coconuts could repel insects, especially ginger worms. However, today, I believe that there is not much market for this natural insecticide. On the contrary, when you have a cold and cough, you might as well eat some coconut meat, which can relieve cough and eliminate phlegm and replenish fire. If you don't know what a cold and cough is, ignore the symptoms such as weakness, itchy throat and no phlegm, and happen to drink cabbage soup, your cold gets worse and you cough incessantly, coconut meat or coconut stewed chicken can effectively alleviate these symptoms.
There are more than 360 kinds of coconut comprehensive utilization products, which are known as "precious trees" and "Tree of Life" abroad.
How to peel coconuts?
If you buy green coconut, you usually only drink coconut juice and don't eat coconut meat, because coconut meat is too tender and tastes bad.
The thick shells of coconuts should be cut down one by one along the fibers with a big knife (wood chopping knife or kitchen knife). When you see three small holes in the coconut, there are two like elephants and one is different. Scrape the surface of different holes with a knife, and then insert a straw. Then you can enjoy drinking water.
If you don't want to waste coconut meat, put the coconut on the chopping block, knock on the hard shell of the coconut with a knife a few times, and then pick up the meat with a knife when it cracks. But generally, coconut meat with good taste is not delicious, and coconut juice with good taste in coconut meat is not delicious.
Peel off the outer layer of the coconut tree, see the serrated place on it, and then poke it twice with chopsticks or a knife to empty the water inside. This is the best, don't waste it; Knock it open with a hammer, or simply knock the coconut on the ground until it cracks. Carefully peel the coconut meat with a knife and you can eat delicious coconut meat.