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

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midwinter, the central heating kept the temperature around 21°C, which was sufficiently warm to support active growth. �e nutrient and energy reserves of the kernel are capable of supporting growth well beyond 12 months in this environment. Eventually, however, Temperature (°C) 32 29 26 23 20 17 14 Jan Feb Brisbane Darwin Mar Apr May Cairns Townsville June the reserves will be exhausted and growth will cease unless there is enough light for photosynthesis. Ornamental coconut seedlings for indoor use are distributed widely by nurseries in the Netherlands, and very probably in other temperate countries. Mackay Minimum line Figure 1-14. Annual daily mean temperature graph for some Australian centres of different latitude. Brisbane is marginal for coconut, having a mean temperature below the 21 degrees critical value for about six months. Fruit always drops before reaching maturity in Brisbane. In Mackay, where the cool season is shorter and less intense, fruit is able to mature successfully. �is is the southern limit of consistent production of sound fruit though a proportion of good fruit is produced as far south as Bundaberg. Cairns has a short period close to 21 deg, while in Darwin the daily mean temperature is close to the ideal of 28 degrees for six months and only slightly below for the remainder of the year. July Months Aug Sept Oct 31 21°C–Minimum limiting growth Nov Dec Can the coconut palm be regarded as a native Australian plant? From time to time in Australia, the question of the coconut’s indigenous or ‘naturalised’ status is raised, especially in relation to the management of coastal national parks. �e coconut was very scarce indeed when the European colonists arrived, but it was not entirely absent, as shown above. It is obvious to anyone who walks the beaches, particularly of the east coast, that coconut seeds arrive fairly frequently, and that some of these seeds are capable of establishing palms. �eir arrival is not surprising, because the dominant ocean current off the Queensland coast flows through the islands to the east of Papua New Guinea, where the coconut grows prolifically. �e Australian coast shares many other species of strand plants with Melanesia, such as the casuarina (or ‘sheoak’), the goats-foot morning glory, and the leguminous creeper Vigna marina. It seems clear to me that, but for the presence of Aboriginal foodgatherers and the foraging whitetailed rat, the coconut would have been well established on at least the
Figure 1-15. �e author holding an ornamental coconut seedling indoors at Pitlochry in Scotland. After one year or so, when the supply of kernel supporting growth is exhausted, indoor palms die due to lack of sufficient sunlight. most favourable tropical shores of the Australian north-east before European settlement. It is a potential coloniser of the Australian coast, and quite possibly has established itself on some northern beaches since the dislocation of the Aboriginal tribes, and perhaps also the local decline in numbers of the white-tailed rat, during the 19th century. �ere is no clear proof either way about its establishment during that time, but given the palm’s known tenacity in colonising remote strands, and some circumstantial evidence that it actually did so on the Australian coast, I suggest that it be accepted as a native Australian plant. �e coconut palm’s ‘native’ habitat is a very restricted niche on the strand. It cannot establish itself naturally anywhere else, because dispersal is solely by water—which counters any argument for its acceptance in natural heritage areas away from the strand. 32
Page 1 and 2: The coconut odyssey the bounteous p
Page 4 and 5: �e coconut odyssey the bounteous
Page 6: Foreword Coconut is a tree of great
Page 9 and 10: �e strand posed few biohazards .
Page 11 and 12: Traditional coconut cream and milk
Page 14 and 15: Preface Few plants are more univers
Page 16 and 17: chapter 1 �e coconut odyssey begi
Page 18 and 19: Evolution of the coconut �e ocean
Page 20 and 21: In this way, the coconut palm evolv
Page 22 and 23: Figure 1-5. Zones of latitude withi
Page 24 and 25: ships bound for Cuba and other isla
Page 26 and 27: as the seedling develops. It secret
Page 28 and 29: But there was another motive. Durin
Page 30 and 31: Figure 1-12. Four seasonal mean tem
Page 34 and 35: chapter 2 Surprising diversity amon
Page 36 and 37: Dwarfs have far fewer varieties tha
Page 38 and 39: �ey are also notably better adapt
Page 40 and 41: �e Niu Leka produces many interme
Page 42 and 43: Figure 2-6. Aerial view of North Ke
Page 44 and 45: chapter 3 �e life story of a palm
Page 46 and 47: �e embryo of the seed is conceale
Page 48 and 49: noticeable setback to growth, the s
Page 50 and 51: completing the second full circle.
Page 52 and 53: Why does the palm on the strand lea
Page 54 and 55: Figure 3-12. �e exposed roots of
Page 56 and 57: chapter 4 Taking the plunge looking
Page 58 and 59: Annual rainfall of 2000 mm, which i
Page 60 and 61: Figure 4-2. Crowded palms, showing
Page 62 and 63: Figure 4-4. Fruitless and therefore
Page 64 and 65: chapter 5 Caring for the palm from
Page 66 and 67: Papua New Guinea and Indonesia, par
Page 68 and 69: �e only known coconut disease att
Page 70 and 71: least in the early years) will not
Page 72 and 73: Table 5.1. Visual symptoms of some
Page 74 and 75: Table 5.2. Critical levels for mine
Page 76 and 77: chapter 6 �e productive palm pote
Page 78 and 79: from a palm with a 10-metre trunk.
Page 80 and 81: Figure 6-5a. A less likely disaster
Page 82 and 83:
Where there is ready access to a to
Page 84 and 85:
chapter 7 �e fruit and its parts
Page 86 and 87:
have provided the foundation for a
Page 88 and 89:
traces of many minerals, such as po
Page 90 and 91:
Figure 7-3. Coconut milk being sque
Page 92 and 93:
produced particularly in India and
Page 94 and 95:
is lit at one end (requiring coals
Page 96 and 97:
Coconut sap for toddy and sugar In
Page 98 and 99:
(400-600 kg/m 3 ), and finally ther
Page 100 and 101:
Precision cutting recovers the best
Page 102 and 103:
even one metre would be enough to
Page 104 and 105:
Preparing a ‘tender nut’: a spe
Page 106 and 107:
little water left inside. Select on
Page 108 and 109:
Recovering the kernel �e kernel c
Page 110 and 111:
Small, 10-mm cubed pieces of fresh
Page 112 and 113:
chapter 10 �e coconut’s industr
Page 114 and 115:
using annual oil crops. Until then,
Page 116 and 117:
which is the largest exporter. Indi
Page 118 and 119:
on the separation of oil from its e
Page 120 and 121:
skills. �e introduction of simple
Page 122 and 123:
chapter 11 �e wonder food Since a
Page 124 and 125:
Saturated and unsaturated fats Mark
Page 126 and 127:
double bonds are shown beside the n
Page 128 and 129:
Independent researchers in the Unit
Page 130 and 131:
molecules entering into the chemist
Page 132 and 133:
Issue Detail Comments 10. High melt
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