The coconut odyssey - the bounteous possibilities of the ... - ACIAR

�e coconut fruit requires a yearlong
period, during which the palm
is free from severe stress, to grow to
maturity.
Natural fruit loss because of cold
weather or water stress is a boon for
city councils and other organisations
managing coconut palms in urban
settings. �ey would normally spend
much money removing the fruit so
that passers-by are not endangered
by falling mature nuts (see Chapter
6), which usually weigh more than
one kilogram at maturity. Palms can
grow up to 30 metres, but even a
five-metre drop would cause serious
injury. Tall palms become hazardous
very soon after fruiting begins.
�ose responsible for palms in
public places must invest in pruning
(denutting) or bunch-caging services
to eliminate the risk.
South of Mackay, on the Australian
east coast (around latitude
20 degrees south), the fruit reaches
full maturity but a small proportion
may have incomplete kernel
development. �is renders the nut
incapable of germinating, although
the kernel is still good to eat. North
of that latitude, most fruits contain
a fully developed kernel and have
potential value as seeds and as a
reliable source of food and drink.
Figure 1-13 shows the shapes of
coconut shells in fruit grown in
various places in Australia. �e
Figure 1-13. Fruit and nut shapes that have been affected by different seasonal
temperature ranges. Elliott Heads (latitude 25 degrees) is midway between
Brisbane and Rockhampton, Seaforth is close to Mackay (latitude 21 degrees) while
Cooktown (latitude 15 degrees 30) is on the east coast of Cape York Peninsula.
30
annual mean temperature in these
locations, and some others, has
been graphed in Figure 1-14. A
prolonged cool period appears to
induce narrowing of the nut within
the fruit, giving it an elongated
appearance, with some fruit also
showing incomplete development
of the kernel. In places where
there is little seasonal variation
in temperature, for example near
the tip of Cape York (latitude 11
degrees south), the typical rounded
nut shape predominates. In the
coconut heartlands of Indonesia,
the Philippines and Melanesia, nut
shapes vary from spherical to oval
or almost cone shaped; the shape
found in seasonally cool regions
seems always to be elongated or a
narrow oval. Shape is not an issue in
the marketplace, provided that the
kernel is sound, but a narrow nut
has a smaller volume and therefore
less value than a spherical nut.
Extreme latitude: the
coconut seedling as an
indoor plant
I was once astonished to find
coconut seedlings growing in
the dining room of a hotel in
Pitlochry, Scotland (latitude 57
degrees north). Although it was