The Department of Agriculture has announced plans to promote the cultivation of “gelatinous coconuts,” citing increasing demand for the fruit, which can fetch up to 60-100 baht per coconut when sold domestically.
Gelatinous coconut is an endemic coconut cultivar with defective endosperm growth. The result is a soft, translucent, jelly-like flesh that practically covers the entire internal chamber of the coconut seeds with little to no coconut water. The rare fruits – approximately 3 out of 1,000 – have become a significant crop in many coconut-producing nations.
With cooperation from the Department of Agriculture, a project to grow purebred NHK-C2 gelatinous coconut trees using the embryo culture method has been piloted by Chumphon Horticultural Research Center. Each tree bred through this particular agricultural process is expected to yield roughly 80 gelatinous coconuts annually per tree.
According to department officials, between 2013 and 2022, 121 NHK-C2 coconut trees were also successfully planted at the Kanthuli hybrid coconut plantation in Surat Thani Province. Each tree reportedly produced up to 105 gelatinous coconuts annually by the eighth or ninth year.
Rapeepat Chantarasriwong, Director-General of the Department of Agriculture, noted that after the fourth year of cultivation, NHK-C2 coconut farmers can also expect to earn up to 155,607 baht per rai of farming area per year – a much higher net return when the total production cost per rai is approximately 9,393 baht.
Those interested in cultivating NHK-C2 coconuts can contact the Suratthani Seed Research and Development Center at 081-1882217. (NNT)
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