In many tropical countries, the bleeding of the inflorescences is practiced and the sweet sap which flows out is used to make a sweet drink, toddy, from which many products are prepared (sugar, vinegar, honey substitute, syrups, alcohol, see this section for all details.
For illustrating this section, we can produce on request at least one large size HD poster (up to 180x100 cm in size). These posters should be adapted to each country, on a case-by-case basis, in order to prominently feature locally produced coconut products, and to promote the marketing of these local products.
The spathe is ligated before its natural opening, then hammered (tapping). Then cut the end of the spathe. The yield can reach 5 liters of toddy per day and per spathe (150 liters during the bleeding period of the inflorescence giving 6 kg of sugar). After the "tapping" stops, the production of the coconut palms can resume normally.
The method seems simple, but in fact requires a large workforce and the experience of specialized workers who visit to the inflorescences twice a day. Yields are very high, they can exceed 20 tons of sugar per hectare per year, much more than other sugar crops such as sugar cane or beet.
They are techniques to produce both toddy and coconuts on the same palms. They are also recent initiatives and patents to mechanize toddy harvesting and reduce the number of coconut palm climbing from 70 per inflorescence to just two per inflorescence. If the issues of excessive labour are addressed, coconut palm sugar production could become extremely profitable.
©R. Bourdeix, 2021, section CAHS.
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