Technologies for organic cultivation in Coconut

Abstract

Agriculture has been practised traditionally in an organic way from time immemorial in India. To be commensurate with the demand of the increasing human population, improved and scientific agricultural technologies are being adopted to increase production and productivity. With the advent of the green revolution, the intense use of high-yielding varieties, inputs like fertilisers, chemicals and mechanisation came into practice. Over the years, though the production increased, the soil health and sustainability deteriorated. This situation has compelled scientists and farmers to look back and turn to organic farming without compromising the yield. Thus, in
recent years with the global climate change, emerging health consciousness, and environmental awareness among consumers, organic farming has been gaining momentum worldwide. The core concept of organic farming relies mainly on the recycling of on-farm biomass resources for sustained nutrition (e.g. manure, fodder, organic materials, etc.), soil management techniques (soil moisture conservation measures), selection of location-specific cropping systems, agroforestry (where woody perennials are grown in association with crop/livestock) and adoption of eco-friendly pest and disease management (by excluding the use of chemical pesticides). This article discusses the practice of organic cultivation in coconut.