Harvesting Millions of Coconuts For Worldwide Distribution!

in India almost every ceremonial occasion is inaugurated with the breaking of a coconut this is a famous Hindu ritual but India is not alone where you see plenty of coconuts Indonesia and the Philippines are the top producers of coconuts Indonesia produces 17.13 million metric tons of coconut every year the Philippines produces 1477 million metric tons a bit more than the annual production of coconuts in India these three countries produce 73% of the coconut globally it is a 12.03 billion business and by 2030 it will reach $1 19.38 billion yet this is all about raw coconut

coconut is widely utilized to produce various products for example Cosmetics medicines Etc the husk of the coconut is a traditional raw material used to make ropes Nets coarse fabrics and choir in this video you will watch how millions of coconuts are produced and harvested how are different products made from coconut and and what are some of the products made out of its husk that you might never have seen before what are the challenges to the coconut industry and how does this auspicious fruit change the lives of many let's find out but before that make sure

to subscribe to this channel for such informative content in recent years coconut demand in the west has increased significantly Imports of coconut in the us alone have spiked nearly 30% sent since 2018 companies are selling it as a superfood and launching new coconut products to Target the masses but these countries in the tropics are already selling most of their coconut to meet the rising demand they have to grow more coconut trees coconut production is not easy as well a coconut tree typically takes 3 to 6 years to start flowering furthermore a cocon takes 9 months

to develop and drop off the tree moreover a mature coconut tree can produce 30 or more coconuts per year in ideal conditions with correct planting watering and Care a coconut tree can reach full maturity and maximum yield in 15 years there are mainly two types of coconut plants dwarf and Tall coconuts a dwarf coconut however can be as tall as a tall coconut the terms dwarf and Tall refer to the size at which it will begin to produce the coveted or harvestable coconut preparing a new seed from both dwarf and Tall coconuts is known as

hybridization nowadays many Planters rely on this method to enhance the yield and speed up the growth of coconuts it involves taking flowers from the male plant and transferring them to the female plant buttons when they are receptive interestingly a coconut tree has both male flowers and female buttons on the same inflorescence male flowers are removed to prepare the tree for reproduction this process is known as emasculation the workers also engrave the date of emasculation on the tree for record for the next 3 weeks an expert will regularly check this plant at this time a little

drop of nectar will appear on the female buttons this indicates the female buttons are now mature enough to pollenate companies like DJ process the pollen from special tall trees and Supply it to the farmers to pollinate the ready female buttons Farmers gently apply pollen with a brush after 120 days they will check how many buttons are left typically 20% of these are left on a coconut tree out of which 90% of the yield grows into fresh coconuts these newly grown coconuts are not for eating instead the nursery man will keep them in nurseries as seed

nuts the nursery man shakes the coconut to find out whether it has the right amount of water or not at the right stage this seed nut goes for planting in the nursery beds germination often starts after a month but it takes 6 months for a baby plant to grow up to 2 and 1/2 ft tall Now coconut plants are ready to be sold to customers these hybrids from DJ s pora will start in only 4 years which will save 3 years of time compared to typical coconut plants here fresh coconuts are ready to be harvested

harvesting them requires meticulous scheduling to achieve ideal maturity it maintains desirable taste and nutritional attributes however obtaining coconuts from a tall tree is a challenge in itself these days we have robots and machines to pluck fruits from trees still coconut Growers rely on conventional methods one straightforward method to harvest coconut is climbing it is an easy way but it is also a risky job these climbers climb over trees without any safety tools falling from a 100t Tall Tree would cause severe damage sometimes they tie husk rope to the tree trunk and sometimes they make small

cuts to climb over foot spikes are also used to climb over climbers make sure they pluck the ripened fruit from the tree one of the easiest methods of harvesting coconut is the pole method a long bamboo stick is used to make coconuts fall but this requires expertise and precautions a direct hit of the coconut on the head can be deadly according to research conducted by the Australian Institute of Marine Science around 150 people lose their lives each year due to coconuts falling a hydraulic elevator is one of the better ways of harvesting coconuts like pole

methods workers use sticks with nails on their ends to collect coconuts they poke each coconut and throw it in their back baskets apparently this truck is ready to transport a coconut plant for further processing since most coconut trees grow in subtropical coastal regions the water channels play an important role in the growth and transportation of coconuts this water canal has been made specifically for watering coconuts they use a special boat with pumps that throw pumps onto the coconut trees also the ready coconuts are deliberately fallen into the water to prevent them from bumping likewise large

boats are used on water channels to transport the harvest in bulk but these boats are away from the field therefore trucks take the Harvest to these boats workers also check the quality of the Coconuts before loading the truck being the largest coconut producer Indonesia transports millions of coconuts through these waterways the Coconuts that do not meet the standard will be used as fertilizer some factories have a special Port facility to receive these coconuts directly from the L boats group is one of them the company has installed special equipment to unload the loaded boats but this

is not the case everywhere this viral video from a port depicts a worrying situation in Bangladesh through a chain of running conveyor belts the fruit goes into the facility then a team of workers removes the outer part of the coconut Which con contains hairlike fabric this part is known as the husk of the coconut and that's why the process of its removal is called dehusking older methods of removing husks are still employed in some countries these methods are prevalent in traditional localities in Southeast Asia Africa and the Caribbean they use machetes to remove the fibrous

husk from coconuts because coconut production has exceeded 62 million metric tons per year globally managing its husk has become an environmental concern however many products can be made from this inedible part of the coconut sambu group is using it as a fuel for its power plant husk charcoal emits relatively little CO2 and it is the finest biofuel moreover coconut husks can be used to make a variety of different products such as husk ropes mats and Pete first the husk is crushed and filtered to separate the fiber and the rest of the material the fibrous material

is known as coia whereas the rest of the material that binds the fiber is called pith these workers collect the choir into piles before sending it to the twine making process first a carding machine processes the fiber then various spinning wheels and tools twist the fiber to transform it into a thick yarn more than one yarn is further Twisted together to form a rope the coconut rope is complete however it can be improved further these workers are weaving the new choir rope to make a mat from it they use a unique device known as a

loom it functions as a frame to hold the weft threads making mat weaving easy in the Philippines where Farmers burn most of the husk to get rid of it a company discovered an inter interesting use for coconut choir they use it as an insulation material for making picnic coolers they call it the nutshell cooler it can keep things cold for 48 hours India has taken the use of Co to the next level the national rural roads development agency of India used Choir geotextiles in rural road construction the choir fabric is laid above the subgrade after

the compaction with reinforce Ing and drainage characteristics it acts as a physical separation layer between the Aggregate and the subgrade soil moreover this biodegradable material can last for 5 years and it costs little compared to other road construction materials this is why they consider it best to build roads around the village create the use of the Co in the road use of the co textile in the road construction then it will have lot of indirect benefits not only for the road construction but other benefits also now if you use the car your textile in road

construction uh it can be provided at anywhere in the uh structure of the payment but generally it is preferred to provide above the subgrade and if it is provided about the subgrade it will act as a reinforcing material it will also act as a drainage material so it will perform many functions in addition to these two and thus enhance the life of the correctly placing the choir mat is not as easy as it looks workers have to take care of mat folding especially on road turns once perfectly laid the mat is clamped and all the

laid rolls are mounted together next workers and machines together Place Building Material over the choir mat to prepare the subbase of the road then rollers give the road 100% compaction lastly the pavement of the road begins which will be completed in two stages the first layer of gravel is placed and filled with a special Earth material and in the last stage grade three gravel is laid and filled and bitumin is used this time similar to Coconut quir the leftover husk chips are not discarded as waste instead husk chips are reduced to powder size by chopping

grinding and crushing after that they add sufficient water to make it a fluffy solution and leave it to dry for days the dried material is called cocoa Pete after blending cocoa Pete and husk chips in the required proportion the resultant material is compressed to transform the mixed material into cocoa Pete blocks these Pete blocks provide higher air paracity for plants and help them grow faster besides blocks cocoa Pete can be transformed into various shapes such as rectangular bricks round pallets and long slabs cocoa Pat grow slabs are quite popular among tomato cucumber pepper herb and

cannabis Growers multiple tests are conducted during the production of these slabs to ensure they possess the appropriate bulk density paracity water holding capacity and expansion volume the grow slabs come wrapped in a plastic or biodegradable film that protects them from moisture loss and fungal growth these are shipped to The Growers who rehydrate them with water before use the grow slabs are suitable for cultivating on tabletops in Glass Houses hydroponic green houses and polytunnel growing systems next to the husk of a coconut is the shell it is relatively harder the workers remove it by peeling it

off removal of this part is known as deshelling any penetration could result in the loss of coconut water this is why some companies prefer drilling coconut before deshelling and even dehusking surprisingly there is also a way to make a profit from the coconut shell coconut shells have perfect characteristics for making charcoal from it this is the special Kiln in which charcoal is made the coconut shells are dried before being loaded onto the Kiln then they ignite the shells From The Bottom the next batch of shells is loaded onto the Kil after a large fire after

that the Kil operator closes the door and seals it with a mixture of clay and Ash this process is repeated again and again until the Kil is fully filled following that the worker seals the top feeder and covers it with clay and Ash the same is done for all Air inlets to prevent fresh air from entering the Kil in a tu at the back of the Kiln wood vinegar and tar flow for 24 hours the Kiln is left in this state and then opened to harvest coconut charcoal this Kil can make 150 kg of charcoal

and it has a mere 30% yield compared to the total amount of coconut shells fed yet the charcoal is not ready it needs to be ground into a fine powder for further processing the powdered charcoal is then mixed with a binding material generally 100 G of starch is enough to serve the purpose water is also added while mixing the material now that the mixture is ready it is time to transform it into briquettes coconut water is an excellent source of hydration it contains high levels of electrolytes making it perfect for rehydrating athletes moreover coconut water

is rich in vitamins it is known for blood pressure control improving digestive health and kidney stone prevention vitamins for manufacturing Factory products they go into the processing unit the coconut water is first filtered to remove any debris or impurities then the filtered coconut water is pasteurized using thermal processing to inactivate enzym s and kill any microorganisms present betrimex uses a combination of heat treatment and rapid cooling to preserve the natural flavor and nutrients of the coconut water the packaged coconut water is stored under Refrigeration to maintain its freshness and quality regular testing is necessary to

monitor the microbiological chemical and sensory properties of the coconut water after removing the husk shell and water what we have now is the white coconut meat some people call it the kernel of a coconut naor Mills company produces coconut milk from coconut meat first of all the coconut meat or kernel is washed with water to make sure that no part of the shell gets in with the meat next the coconut meat is reduced to flakes using various [Music] machines lastly it is mechanically pressed by soaking shredded coconut in boiling water and then straining off the

solid pulp we get coconut milk the amount of fat and oil in the final product can be managed it is done by controlling the amount of water introduced to the flakes during the extraction process some companies also add stabilizers to their products if you don't know what stabilizers do they prevent the liquid molecules from clumping together or separating as a result the heavy ingredient does not fall to the bottom and you see a perfect milk colored liquid coconut cream is similar to coconut milk except it is Created from squeezed coconut kernels and has more fat

and a little quantity of water next the extracted coconut milk and cream are pasteurized using heat treatment to extend their shelf life and ensure food safety here the packaging of the pasteurized milk and cream is under process machines aseptically package the coconut products in sterile containers to prevent any contamination the residual left after squeezing milk is not wasted but it can be further processed to make coconut flour the dried coconut pulp is ground into a fine powder it is a glutenfree high fiber flour and you can use it for baking brownies layer cakes and many

other things the coconut flour has a moderate coconut flavor desiccated coconut is also produced from coconut it looks similar to flour but is completely different unlike coconut flour it is manufactured directly from dryg grated coconut meat the ground coconut is then cved to remove any unwanted particles and achieve the desired particle size this product is also used in baking or as a topping material for desserts it contains 55% fat interestingly coconuts have the highest oil content among all oil seeds moreover drying it off will decrease moisture content resulting in a 70% oil increase in the

coconut meat this is why coconut companies prefer mature coconuts for the production of oil coconut oil has a wide range of applications Beyond cooking at an industrial scale companies use it in making skin care and hair care as well as a natural alternative to typical household cleaning products the dried coconut in the form of flakes is pressed to extract the oil which then goes through a filtration process to eliminate any impurities the extracted oil then goes through a settling process it separates any remaining solids if desired the oil can be further refined to remove any

remaining impurities and unwanted flavors as we said before coconut can be used in a million ways but the Indonesian government is interested in producing biojet fuel from coconuts according to Reuters Indonesia conducted test flights using jet fuel partially from palm oil in 2019 in 2023 Indonesia flew its first commercial flight using palm oil Blended jet fuel it was a Boeing 737 800 NG aircraft with more than 100 passengers and it flew a total distance of 550 km or 342 Mi coconut is also a member of the palm tree family this new use of coconut oil

will solve another problem for Indonesia and other coconut producing countries around 20 to 30% is not considered appropriate for edible products and it remains unused as waste these unused coconuts can help Indonesia increase its bi fuel production by 7% coconut farmers do not have any interest in it because they have their own problems to worry about the foremost issue is climate change major coconut producers including Sri Lanka India and other Southeast Asian countries are already struggling with the devastating effects of global warming high temperatures above 40° Centigrade can severely impact coconut production by reducing pollen

germination and nut set over 60% of coconut is grown under rainfed conditions climate change is changing precipitation patterns resulting in both droughts and excessive rainfall it has a considerable impact on yields this severity will impact the lives of thousands of coconut farmers and workers associated with the coconut business for most of them it is not just a business but a Lifeline for Rural economies moreover Farmers earn very little as compared to the wealth they generate by growing coconuts in Sri Lanka coconut Farmers earn only $5 or less a day even less than the average salary

in the country to compensate for this some companies provide extra benefits to their farmers and workers for example navic Mills pays school fees for their workers children but this is clearly not enough this 50 mm bug known as the oricat rhinoceros or coconut rhinoceros beetle is a major threat to Coconut Farmers worldwide it feeds in a coconut tree right at the crown and that would be the area where the coconut leaves or fronds attached to the um coconut tree the rhino beetle will borrow in using its um legs as well as it horn and feed

on the coconut sap for approximately 2 to 3 days it attacks a palm at the base of its fronds this attack severely damages the coconut trees and sometimes even becomes the reason for their demise just looking at the in um the the head capsule it's about 9.5 to 12 mm the biggest there are chemical Solutions available to kill this insect but many farmers believe that their use also harms the tree perhaps this is why handpicking Beetles from the axles of Palms is practiced in Indonesia using a pheromone trap is another solution to this problem these

boxes can control track and assess the frequency of virus infections about 2,330 Mi away in the east of Indonesia there is an island known as Guam there is a special kind of tree snake it indirectly supports the coconut rhinoceros beetles experts believe that this snake is the reason for the low quantity of birds and rats on the island and also for more rhinoceros these Beatles start their colonies on dead standing coconut and other palm trees in 2023 the government of another island nation Marshall Islands decided to ctail the spread of these Beatles but this is

not all coconut trees are vulnerable to many other insects and diseases their Growers confront unprecedented hurdles in meeting the growing demand for this fruit you learned how many ways coconuts are used it is nutrient Rich environment friendly and one of the most beneficial fruits on Earth we hope both the coconut and its Growers Will Survive the rigorous challenges of the time hope you enjoyed this video we would love to hear your thoughts so leave a comment below like share And subscribe and we will come up with another interesting topic take care