Arecanut palm is one of the most important plantation crops cultivated in North Malabar. In addition to the economic importance, it is prominent in several religious and social ceremonies.

Raising Planting Material

Production and use of quality planting material is very important for ensuring a better yield from arecanut palm as in the case of the coconut. Farmers follow various indigenous practices for raising quality planting material in arecanut, including specific criteria for selection of mother palm, seed nuts, and seedlings. The farmers have also developed indigenous ways of raising nurseries.

Mother Palm Selection

Age of mother palms is an important factor considered by the farmers for selecting seed nuts. In North Malabar, the farmers prefer old trees (locally called peetta) for selection of seed nuts. The farmers select high-yielding and regular bearing palm, which produce at least four bunches per annum, with a minimum yield of 250 nuts per bunch.

Collection of Seed Nuts

Not all nuts from an identified mother palm are chosen as seed nuts, and farmers apply certain criteria for the collection of seed nuts.

1. a. Bunches from naduppolikkal (middle harvest) are to be selected for collecting seed nuts. For example, if there are four bunches to be harvested from a palm, the second and third bunches are preferred.

2. b. Farmers also believe that seed nuts should not be collected from a tree if a recently opened inflorescence is present on it.