Climate and Coconut - Climat et cocotier

Cyclones are occurring, more or less frequently, in most coconut producing countries. For instance, in the 1990s, extreme weather cost the Pacific region more than 1 billion USD (Asian Development Bank, 2013).

The way coconut palms are destroyed seems to depend on the nature of the soil: broken stems in rocky and compact soils, uprooting in sandy and soft soils. From an economic and agricultural point of view, it seems that the damages and loss of production induced by cyclones are more important than the killing of palms, often occurring only close to the cyclone eye.


In some villages of the Pacific region, it is now forbidden to plant Tall-type coconut palms in the villages near the house. We think it's a good decision. The best is to use what is called "Compact Dwarf Varieties", which are characterized by slow vertical growth, a thick trunk at the base and short leaves which give them good resistance to cyclones.

Such varieties and their hybrids are probably one of the best possible future for coconut agriculture! replanting these types of Compact Dwarfs could be very useful for mitigating the damages caused by Oryctes beetles. It is much easier to manage oryctes on small palms (2-4 m height) that on Tall-type palms measuring 12 m or more! Harvest is also lest costly; palms are smaller, less sensitive to cyclones and safer...

Such climate disasters can threaten human and animal lives. One of the worst coconut-related stories was recorded in 1878 on the Kaukura atoll in the Tuamotus, French Polynesia. Copra harvesters were surprised by the storm during the seasonal occupation of a motu. The cyclone killed 117 people.

In India, different planting depths were tested, from surface to 90 cm depth. Under cyclone conditions, in the surface, and 30 cm treatments, the percentage of palms uprooted and tilted were 10% and 5% respectively, whereas none of the palms under deeper planting treatments were affected. These results were in accordance with those reported in 1974; planting at 60 cm deep seems the best, it registered significant increase in boll size and number of roots putting forth firm anchorage, thereby enabling the palms to withstand the cyclonic storm. According to Dr Chowdalpa (personal communication), deep planting is mainly practiced on the sandy soils of the west coast of India, not on the East coast where soils are more compact.

The coconut palm rather evokes exotic images of quiet beaches. But sometimes the figth between the trees and the ocean sometimes said to be "Pacific" becomes of a great violence. The coconut palms uprooted resemble then soldiers given up on a battle field. This image was carried out in Micronesia, on the atoll of Funafuti, in its part the most exposed to the tropical storms and cyclones. These are the same storms which disseminate the seeds of coconut palm from islands to islands. It is clear that in such an ecology, the coconut palms contribute to the fight against marine erosion.

For illustrating this section, we can produce on request at least one large size HD poster (up to 180x100 cm in size). This poster should be adapted to each country, on a case-by-case basis, in order to prominently feature local specificities.

Research on drought tolerance has shown variability for revival capacity, water use efficiency, dry matter production and yield of coconut cultivars. Results obtained in India indicated that hybrids using Talls as mother palms are generally more tolerant to drought when compared with Dwarfs (Malayan types) and with hybrids using Dwarfs as the mother palm.

Coconut palms dying from drougth
in the Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia  

There is a significant potential market for cold-tolerant coconut varieties able to survive in countries with a temperate climate. The first cold-hardiness studies in Hainan Island (China) indicated the existence of genetic variability. The semi-lethal temperatures ranged from 7.3 to 12.4 ℃ according to the cultivar. Local Hainan Tall coconut varieties had the strongest growth vigour but lower yield when compared with some introduced cultivars.

Maoris coming from tropical Polynesian islands tried so many times to grow coconut palms in New Zealand but never succeeded due to the cold weather. Polynesians living in the Austral Islands (southern French Polynesia) also suffer greatly from scant coconut production. Because it gives any landscape a more ‘tropical’ look, many people attempt growing coconuts in non-tropical climates. Studies conducted in Florida shows that palms subjected to long periods of low temperature have soft, sunken, reddish areas on the trunk. These cold-damaged trunk areas are often invaded by secondary fungi and/or bacteria that cause trunk-rot and, several months later, the collapse of the entire crown. Fertilization may improve cold tolerance.