Germination is very erratic, sometimes occurring within a month and sometimes extending over four, five, or more months. When the young shoot or plumule (see illustration) has fairly thrust its way through the fibrous husk it is a good practice to go over the heaps and segregate those that have sprouted, carefully placing them so that the growing tip be not deformed or distorted by the pressure of superincumbent nuts. When these sprouts are 30 to 50 cm. high, and a few roots have thrust through the husk, they are in the best possible condition for permanent planting.
First. The original preparation of the land should be good and the surface tilth at the time of planting irreproachable; i. e., free from weeds and so mellow that the soil can be closely and properly pressed around the roots by hand.
Fig 3.—Germination of cocoanut.
Second. The orchard should be securely protected from the invasion of cattle, etc. It is sometimes impossible to protect orchards against entry of these animals. If the success of these precautions can not be assured, then the nuts had better be grown in a closely protected nursery until about a year old, when the albumen of the seed will be completely assimilated and will therefore no longer attract vermin, and when the larger size of the plant will give it more protection from stray cattle.
In either case planting should be made concurrently with the opening of the rainy monsoon, during which season further field operations will not be required except when an intermittent, drier period indicates the advisability of running the cultivator.
The planting “pit” fetish, in such common use in India, has nothing to commend it. If stable manures of any kind are available, a good application at the time of planting will effect wonders in accelerating the growth of the young plants.
Where the necessary protection is assured, the young seedling planted out as above recommended should start at once, without check of any kind, into vigorous growth.
The nursery-grown subject receives an unavoidable setback. Its roots have been more or less mutilated and, as we may not prune the top sufficiently to compensate for the root injury, it is generally several months before the equilibrium of top and root is fully restored. In most cases, by the end of the second year, it will have been far outstripped in the growing race by the former.
The history, habits, and characteristics of the cocoanut tree indicate that it needs a full and free exposure to sun, air, and wind; and, as it makes a tree, under such circumstances, of wide crown expansion, these indispensables can not be secured except by very wide planting.