Harvest seed nuts during the months of February - August in Tamil Nadu, December to May in Kerala to get maximum germination and good quality seedlings. Generally seed nuts are harvested during February-May and planted in June in the west coast region, whereas sowing is done in October-November in East Coast region. Nut should not be damaged while harvesting. Discard nuts having irregular shape and size. Tall varieties are sown one or two months after collection whereas dwarfs should be sown immediately after harvest (within 10 to 15 days).
Harvested Nuts
Selected Healthy Nuts
Maturity of Seed nut
The mature nuts are harvested when atleast one nut in the oldest bunch starts becoming dry. In Talls, it takes 11-12 months to become a matured seed nut whereas in dwarfs, nuts will mature in 10-11 months after emergence of the inflorescence. In general dwarf palms are to be harvested once in four weeks and tall palms are to be harvested once in six to eight weeks. They produce a resonant and ringing sound when hit with the harvesting knife or tapped by finger indicating that the husk is dry. Immature nuts will produce a dull sound. Harvest the bunches intended for seednut by lowering them to the ground using a rope to avoid injury to seednuts when palms are tall and ground is hard. The seednuts should be medium sized, round or oblong in shape.
Storage of Nuts
Nuts are Covered with Coconut Leaves 
Stored in Room Condition
To get more quality seedlings, the seednuts of tall and hybrid are to be air cured for one month followed by sand curing for two months. For dwarf varieties, the air curing should be lesser than one month followed by sand curing for two months. In general seed nuts of tall variety are stored upto two months after harvest and dwarfs are sown within 15 days. For storing, arrange the seed nuts with the stalk-end up over an 8 cm layer of sand in a shed and cover with sand to prevent drying of nut water. Up to five layers of nuts can be arranged one over the other. The nuts can also be stored in plots, provided the soil is sandy and the ground is sufficiently shaded. In the case of nuts harvested in May, heap them in partial shade, till husk is well dried and then sow them in the nursery. Nuts without splashing sound indicate that the nut water has become dry and hence they should not be used for sowing.
