Alternate Income Sources in Coconut Farming
Coconut is one of the few tree crops where intercropping is widely practiced. This is largely because coconut is primarily grown by small farmers who are naturally inclined to diversify. With a long lifespan of 60 to 80 years, coconut cultivation commits the land for several decades. Coconut trees are typically spaced about 7.5 meters apart, utilizing approximately 22.3% of the land area, while the canopy covers an average of 30%.
Coconut trees offer a unique advantage with two phases in their lifecycle initially up to 8 to 10 years after planting, and again from 20 years after planting until senescence when sufficient light penetrates to the ground, making intercropping feasible. Additionally, many annual crops are compatible with coconut, as its root zone extends laterally only up to a 2-meter radius and vertically between 30 and 120 cm from the soil surface.
Intercropping under coconut
As a monocrop, coconut does not fully utilize the natural resources like soil and sunlight in the garden. In coconut plantations with a spacing of 7.5 m x 7.5 m, 75% of the planted area remains underutilized due to the specific distribution of the crop's root system.
The active root zone of coconut occupies only 25% of the available area, as the majority of the roots are concentrated within a two-meter radius around the base. Coconut is well-suited for various coconut-based farming system models, including intercropping, mixed cropping, and multi-storeyed cropping, with diverse crop combinations. Therefore, integrating seasonal or perennial crops that do not hinder the growth of the coconut palm can maximize returns per unit area.
