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7/25/2019 Srinidhi Areca

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Farming Guide for Arecanut Plantat ion

The areca nut palm is the source o f common chewing nut, popularly known asbetelnut or Supari. In India it is extensively used by large sections o f people and is very much linkedwith religious practices. India is the largest pro ducer of areca nut and at the same time largestconsumer also .Major s tates cultivating this crop are Karnataka (40%), Kerala (25%), Assam(20%), Tamil Nadu, Meghalaya and West Bengal.

Areca Nut- Plant Bunch ready for Harvest

Climate

The cultivation of arecanut is mos tly conf ined to 28º north andso uth of the equato r. It grows well within the temperature rangeof 14ºC and 36ºC and is adversely af f ected by temperaturesbelow 10ºC and above 40ºC. Extremes of temperature and widediurnal variations are not conducive f or t he healthy growth o f thepalms. Arecanut can be grown in areas receiving annual rainf all of 750 mm in Maidan parts of Karnataka to 4,500 mm inMalnad areasof Karnataka. In areas where there is prolonged dry spell, thepalms are irrigated. Due to its susceptibility to low temperature, agoo d crop o f arecanut cannot be obtained at an altitude of morethan 1000 m MSL.

Soil

The largest area under the crop is f ound in gravelly laterite so ilsof red clay type. It can also be grown on f ertile clay loam soils.Sticky clay, sandy, alluvial, brackish and calcareous soils are notsuitable for arecanut cultivation.

Varieties

Swarnamangala (VTL-1m2)

Regular bearer, consistent yielder with homogenous

population

Trees are semi tall to tall, stem sturdy with shorter internodes

Having partially drooping crown with well placed bunches

Average no. of bunches/palm/year - 3.90

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Color of ripe nuts - Orange to deep yellow

Shape of ripe nuts - Oblong to round and bold

Bearing - By 4th year

Potential yield (kg chali/palm/year) - 6.28

Average yield (kg chali/palm/year) - 3.88

Recovery - High recovery with 26.52% of chali f rom f resh nut

Recommended regions /areas f or cultivation- Irrigated areas o f Karnataka and Kerala

Vittal Areca Hybrid- 1 (VTLAH-1)

Hybrid between Hirehalli Dwarf x Sumangala.

Dwarf type with reduced canopy and very sturdy stem.

Super imposition o f nodes on the s tem gives mechanical support topalms.

Partially droo ping crown with well spread leaves.

Moderate yielder but early stabilization in nut yield.

Medium sized o val, yellow to orange nuts.

Average yield (kg chali/palm/year)- 2.54.

Yield (kg/ha)- 5248.

Recovery over f resh nut- 26.45 %.

Specif ic recommendation f or seed production- Artif icial crossing issuggested between Hirehalli Dwarf and Sumangala for hybrid seedproduction. Only sprouts /seedlings will be supplied af ter so rting andselection in the nursery.

Recommended regions/areas f or cultivation- Coastal Karnataka andKerala.

Harvesting and spraying easy because of the dwarf ing nature and lesser cost of cultivation.

Sun scorching and wind damage is minimal due to dwarf ing nature.

Raising of Seedlings

Arecanut is propagated o nly by seeds . There are f our s teps in select ion and rais ing o f arecanut seedlings viz.,selection o f mother palms, selection of seed nuts, germination andraising the seedlings and selection of seedlings.

Select ion of mother palm

The criteria for the selection of mother palm are; early bearing, regular bearing habit, largenumber of leaves on the crown, shorter internodes and high fruit set .

Selection of seed nut

Fully ripened nuts having weight of above 35 g should be selected. The nuts selected should

f loat vertically with calyx-end point ing upwards when allowed to f loat o n water. These nutsproduce the seedlings of greater vigour.

Primary and secondary nurseries

For o btaining good germination, the seed nuts sho uld be sown as whole fruits. The nuts



sho uld be so wn immediately af ter the harvest in so il or sand and watered daily to get early andgoo d germination. The nuts should be sown at 15 cm distance in vertical position with calyxend just covered. The beds may be mulched lightly using areca leaf o r paddy st raw. Af ter s ixmonths in primary nursery, the seedlings are to be transplanted to secondary nursery beds o f 150 cm width, 15 cm height and convenient length. A spacing of 30 cm between the seedlings isconsidered to be opt imum f or a growth period o f one year in the nursery. Polythene bags(25x15cm, 150 gauge) f illed with po tt ing mixture (to p so il: FYM : sand = 7:3:2) can also be usedto raise secondary nursery. Sprouts of 3 months o ld should be used. The secondary nurserysho uld be given a basal dose of decomposed f arm yard manure@ 5 tonnes per ha. Areca

sprouts and seedlings are very delicate and do not withstand exposure to direct sunlight.Hence, proper shade should be provided to t he nursery.The nursery should be watered regularly in the summer and proper drainage should be providedin rainy seaso n. The nursery should be kept clean by periodical weeding.

Selection of seedlings

Twelve to eighteen-month-old seedlings are to be selected and transplanted in the main field.Seedlings with maximum number o f leaves (f ive or abo ve), minimum height and maximum girthare to be selected for planting. The selected seedlings sho uld be removed with a ball of earthadhering to the roo ts f or planting.

Select ion of site and layout

The crop thrives well in humid areas protected well against ho t sun and heavy wind. Since theareca palm does not withstand either water logging or drought, the site selected should haveproper drainage and adequate source of water f or irrigation. Arecanut palm cannot withstandextreme temperature and exposure to direct sun. So the site selected should have protectionf rom southern and western sides. The so il depth and the depth o f water table are other twoparameters to be considered while selecting the site. The so il sho uld be deep (preferably notless than two meters) and water table should be suf f iciently low for better root development.

Aligning the ro ws in north-so uth direction with a deviat ion o f 35º towards south-west lowersthe incidence of sun-scorch.

Spacing

This depends on the roo ting pattern of the crop along with the fertility and depth o f the so il.The studies conducted at diff erent places with dif f erent spacing have revealed that a spacingof 2.7 m X 2.7 m is optimum for arecanut.

Depth of planting

In well-drained soils and in the f ields where proper drainage can be provided, deep planting ispreferred. Deeper planting provides a f irm anchorage and larger volume of space f or ro otdevelopment. In areas where water table is high, shallow planting is preferred. Thus in well-drained soils, planting at a depth of 90 cm is recommended and in heavy soils planting at adepth o f 60 cm is recommended.

Season of planting

In areas where South-West monso on is severe, planting in the month of September-Octo ber isrecommended. In other areas planting can also be done in the months of May-June.

Drainage

For better growth and development of the plants proper drainage is essent ial. The number of drainage channels depend upon the so il type. In light soils the number of channels may be lessand in heavy so ils the channels should be dug in each row for pro per draining of the excesswater. The channels sho uld be at least 15 – 30 cm deeper than the depth at which theseedlings are planted.

Shading

The palms are highly susceptible f or sun scorching. The seedlings should be given protectionagainst the direct exposure to sun. This may be done either covering the plants with areca or coconut leaves or by raising crops like banana in between two rows of arecanut. Sun scorching



is mos tly seen during Octo ber – January. During this period even the stems of young palmshave to be protected. For this a quick growing shade plant can be planted on Southern andWestern sides o f the garden.

Nutrient Requirement

Annual applicat ion o f 100 g N (220 g urea), 40 g P2O5 (200 g ro ck pho sphate) and 140 g K2O(235 g muriate o f potash) in addition to 12 kg each of green leaf and compost per palm per year is recommended. The fert ilizers are to be applied in two split doses. One third of thef ertilizer is applied in May - June and two third along with the o rganics during September-October. Fertilizers are applied in basins around the palm dug to a depth of 15-20 cm and 0.5-1.0 m radius leaving 20 cm f rom the base of the palm. Aft er application, the so il is ro lled up andcovered with organic matter and so il.

Organic matter recycling

On an average, 5.5 to 6.0 to nnes o f wastes are available f rom one ha of areca garden per year. This can be ef f ectively used as organic so urce of nutrients f or areca palms. But directapplication o f these wastes in the garden will take long time f or decompos ition and will notmeet the nutrient demand of the crop immediately. Hence, these materials can be compos tedusing earthworms ef f ectively and used as o rganic manure in areca gardens.

To prepare vermicompost , areca wastes are chopped into small pieces o f 10 cm and heaped.The heap should be mixed with cow dung slurry @ 10 kg / 100 kg of waste and kept f or twoweeks with sprinkling water daily. Then the chopped material is arranged in beds o f one- meter width and convenient length. Cement tanks or t renches can be used f or t his purpose. A layer of 10-15 cm waste material is alternated with 2 cm layer o f cow dung over which earthworms arereleased at the rate of 1000 numbers per square meter. The wastes are converted into f inegranular, odourless vermicompost within 60 days. During this period, the earthworm populationis doubled. About 8 kg /palm/year of vermicompos t meets the crop nutrient demand in terms of nitrogen. The two species of earthwormsEudrilus eugeniae and Eisenia foetida can be used.

Cultural operations

The cultural operat ions vary f rom area to area. InMaland tracts the main purpose o f cultivation is to loosen the so il and to rebuild the soil f ertility af ter the heavy rains duringmonsoon. In Maidan tracts the purpose o f cultivation is to conserve the soil moisture andprevent the hardening of the so il, as the soils are heavy in these areas. In general thecultivation was found to increase the yield by 10-20%. In light soils digging can be done once intwo years. But in heavy so ils digging has to be done every year. Clean cultivation was found togive better yield. When planting is done on hill slopes, contour planting gave highest yields.Mulching is another operation being followed in the arecanut gardens. This checks evaporationduring summer, eros ion during rainy seasons and keeps the weeds under check. Choppedareca leaves, grass, arecanut husk and dry leaves collected f rom the f ores ts can be used asmulch in areca gardens.

Irrigation

Arecanut canno t withstand drought f or a lo ng t ime. Being a perennial cro p, once af f ected bywater st ress, it may require two-t hree years to regain the normal vigour and yield. The death of palms due to moisture stress is also not uncommon. Irrigation intervals of 5 and 10 days weref ound superior throughout the season. The quantity of water to be applied is about 200 lit per palm/irrigation. During the summer, majority o f the f armers f ace scarcity o f water and it will bedif f icult to supply the required water to the palms. To overcome this problem, new irrigationmetho ds were tried which can save water witho ut af f ecting the yield of arecanut. They aresprinklers and drip irrigation methods. Sprinkler and drip irrigations can save 20 and 44 per centrespectively of water.

Fertigation

Application o f nut rients thro ugh irrigat ion water is called as f ert igat ion. This pro cedure can beprof itably f o llowed in arecanut. The studies at CPCRI have shown that in the initial stages o f areca garden only 75% of the recommended dose of f ertilizer is suf f icient when the f ertilizer was given thro ugh drip irrigation. The fertilizer should be split into ten parts and should beapplied once in 20 days f rom November to May.



Arecanut based cropping systems

Arecanut is cultivated with spacing of 2.7 X 2.7 m provides ample scope f or cult ivation variousannual by biennial and perennial crops in the inter spaces. Banana, pepper, cocoa, elephantf oot yam, citrus , betelvine, pineapple etc. were found suitable for inter/mixed cropping inarecanut. However, it is f ound that as the age of the garden advances, only f ew crops can begrown prof itably as mixed crop viz., pepper, cocoa, banana, lime and betelvine.

Weed Magement

Keep the garden free o f weeds and break up surf ace crust by light f orking or digging after cessat ion of monsoon during October-November. In slopes, prevent so il eros ion by terracing.Sow seeds o f green manure-cum-cover crops such as Mimosa invisa, Stylosanthes gracilis andCalapagonium mucono ides in April-May with the onset o f pre-monsoon rains. Cut and applythem to the palms in September-October.

Harvest ing and Yield

The pre-bearing age of the palm ranges f rom 5 to 8 years. Though inf lorescence initiation hasbeen observed in every leaf axil, there is abso rption o f inflorescences t o about 5 per cent. Theplant is monoecious , producing both male and female f lowers on the same tree. The spadix of

a grown-up palm produces on an average, 294 female f lowers. The co lour of the f ruit during itsgrowth changes f rom green to dif f erent shades o f yellow and red during ripening. In someplaces, tender nuts are mature nuts are harvested. Tender nuts are harvested f rom July toDecember and ripe nuts f rom December to March or f rom May to July. Three or f our pluckingare done during the whole season.

YIELD

With normal goo d management pract ice, an arecanut palm may yield around 300-400 nuts / palm/ year.

Storage

There are 14 insect and mites that can damage the nuts during sto rage. Hence storing in jutebags soaked in 0.1% Lindane so lution is recommended. When nuts are stored in such bags,they remain free f rom insect infestation f or upto six months. Phostoxin tablets @ 800 g / 100m3 are also ef f ective in controlling sto red arecanut pests .

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