COCONUTS and coconuts (II)

[Guest]

Posted by GILENO MACHADO

[30 m Tallies ( we call them locally "Indianos")

[Guest]

Posted by GILENO MACHADO

Bordering the Atlantic Forest

[Guest]

Posted by GILENO MACHADO

Dwarf green "Paraíba", in my backyard

[Guest]

Posted by GILENO MACHADO

Fruit detail

[Walter John]

Applause !!! great photos.

No lethal yellowing at all ?

[Guest]

Posted by GILENO MACHADO

Côco da Bahia (subspecies)

[Guest]

Posted by GILENO MACHADO

No LY yet Wal (cross your fingers...)

Ancient grove at Gamela Beach, Sirinhaém.

[Guest]

Posted by GILENO MACHADO

Orange dwarf coconuts from Ivory Coast hybrids, being harvested for water.

[Guest]

Posted by GILENO MACHADO

Another hybrid, midsize

[Guest]

Posted by GILENO MACHADO

Coconut and Reef in Porto de Galinhas beach

[bgl]

Gileno,

Spectacular surroundings and backyard (back garden?)!!

Bo

[Walter John]

Gileno my main man,

Why so many hybrids ? Are they purpose built hybrids or nature's doing.

[Walter John]

Bump,

any discussion/thoughts on hybrid coconut palms ?

[Guest]

Posted by GILENO MACHADO

Wal, it's a small collection...

I have both natural hybrids and research varieties.

When I bought the property in 1990 I started planting coconuts from many different sources in order to buid up a diversified planting. Some of the seedlings planted were obtained from the State agricultural research agency (IPA), mostly the crosses involving dwarf and giant species, still being tested. Their objective was developing a shorter precocious tree with bigger fruits for water production.

I have 6 different lab hybrids of these experiments and one of them is actually my all time favorite, not just for the size and appearence, but especially for the taste of the water. I call it "apple coconut" and selected some seedlings to expand the cultivation.

My other coconut trees have many different origins, and came from all producing regions of Brazil and also imported from Africa's west coast. I've avoided species from Asia and Caribean for the disease threat, and I had to be extremely careful ever since, even with other new exotic palms arriving in the collection. The difference among the coconut varieties in huge, in terms of appearence, size, colour, number of fruits, age frutification debut, etc.

This is another big hybrid tree, nice looking huge palm with small fruits though. Notice the long petioles...

[Guest]

(bgl @ Jul. 19 2006,19:21)

QUOTE

Gileno,

Spectacular surroundings and backyard (back garden?)!!

Bo

Thanks for your note Bo. I wish I had your lava soil here in my backyard too, this poor sand is only suited for coconuts...

Posted by GILENO MACHADO

Carlo Morici said that he could foresee truckloads of soil coming to my property soon, but I don't want to loose so much the "beach atmosphere" for the moment...But how can I grow Pigafettas and Metroxylons without amending the site? Not to mention the species from Amazonas and SE Asia...

Salacca zalacca planted last sunday:

[Guest]

Posted by GILENO MACHADO

Porto de Galinhas beach again, 30 Km north of Sirinhaém (elected among the 10 best beaches in Brazil and under "touristic attack" at the moment...)

[Guest]

Posted by GILENO MACHADO

Praia do Cupe

[Guest]

Posted by GILENO MACHADO

Porto de Galinhas again

[redant]

Gileno, you are clearly the coconut expert on this board in my opinion. While I have read that coconuts are tolerant of a wide range of soil ph, I have found that the ones growing in my ultra sandy soil that has much pine straw mulch (from the trees overhead) have grown very slowly. I feel the acid soil may be impacting the growth of these trees. Seems the ones that grow in the sand at the beach are faster and healthier then the ones I baby with fertilizer and water on my property. Any thoughts?

[Guest]

Posted by GILENO MACHADO

Doug:

I'm not an expert, but thanks.

I think coconuts are very easy going palms and very adaptable in terms of soil...They can be found happily fruiting here in clay, calcareous, sandy and muddy soils...all they seem to need is sunshine and water...

I fert my cocos with NPK 20-10-20 from time to time...and eventually with sugar cane "torta", a dark humus like byproduct of sugar industry. Cow manure shows excellent results too...The tree growth and fruit production decreases sharply during our dry summer, so I think water regularity is definetly the main concearn...

[Kris]

Dear Gileno Machado,

Hai iam kris from india,your photos are really good. in one picture their is a close up of coconuts hanging in clusters,for this have you climbed half way up or the coco's nucifera tree not that tall ?

And the ariel shots are they taken from Light house or Chopper takes ? simply brilliant.

The location do resembles bora bora and i do not see agent'XXX' anywhere around.Do wal,BGL,Dypsis Dean Have you guys spot him anywhere around  

this is one dream location where all bussiness executives would love to cool off their annual vaction.

Gileno you have a terrefic camera,Guys if you shot natural landscapes kindly share with us about you camera specifications.

Bye for now, But I will Be Back (T2 Extreme)

Love,

Kris.

[Exotic Life]

(Gileno Machado @ Jul. 19 2006,17:55)

QUOTE

Dwarf green "Paraíba", in my backyard

Hi,

Nice picture's, i wish it was my backyard

[epicure3]

Those are beautiful palms. Truly a tropical paradise. Obviously, these are native to the area. Are there any other palms that are naturalized to your area other than coconuts?

[Guest]

(epicure3 @ Jul. 20 2006,12:13)

QUOTE

Those are beautiful palms. Truly a tropical paradise. Obviously, these are native to the area. Are there any other palms that are naturalized to your area other than coconuts?

Posted by GILENO MACHADO

John:

There's still a discussion about the origin of the coconut palm...it is not certain they are native to our coast, even with all the cocoides relatives that are found around. For sure they feel at home here...

Many other palm species are long naturalized in my area, and..., I'm also contributing to increase the number lately... In terms of the economy, the most important palm introduced here was probably the Elaeis guineensis, that we call Dendê, like the Africans, who brought the species during the slavery period and now we produce the oil in large scale...Roystoneas and Pritchardia pacificas are also weeds around here...

Sirinhaém, the Pier in Rio Formoso

[Walter John]

I thought everyone knew that Cocos nucifera originates from North Queensland. Ah well, now you know.

[Robert Lee Riffle]

Beautiful--as usual, Gileno.

South Florida used to look like that (the 1st photo), til the quadrisyllabic-Oedipal-expletive LY came along!

[siafu]

You are mean Gileno!

[Guest]

Posted by GILENO MACHADO

Thanks everyone...

Kris:

I have some old pictures taken from helicopter a few years ago too, but these that I've posted I found in the internet at the touristic agency local website. The digital camera I use at the moment is an old (3 years old) Minolta Dimage Z2 (they've released several new advanced  models ever since). It's a good camera for the price and has a very powerful built-in optical zoom lenses that allows you to shoot palm details from the ground. Sometimes I like to attach and use another wide angle lenses in addition, that I bought separately. This allows you to open the angle and get more subjects into the scene...You should try one, and maybe show us some amazing sites of Madras to kill our curiosity...You know: One Man, at least 10 Trees...    

Wal:

I'll have to meet you in N. Queensland to check these native coconuts sometime...I've heard they've hybridised them with purple kings and the fruits are darker ??? And (the best): the water inside tastes like pilsener beer  

Siafu:

You're from Portugal right? where from? Your patrícios are buying out the whole beach at Porto de Galinhas now...The new local cuisine dish there is codfish cooked with olive and potatoes !!...with Vinho verde, com certeza...when are you coming?

[siafu]

Gileno,

Lisbon is the place.

Regarding Porto Galinhas, I think it is a fair exchange ;-),  given the huge number of your patrícios that traded BraSil

for Portugal in recent years.

I would not mind buying a retirement beach front property in your beatiful country, but I think the law is restrictive when actual land is concerned. It is different for houses and apartments and that, I think, explains the boom.

Still, as soon as I get a spare million, I will give it some serious thought about retiring early and moving to BraSil ;-)

Hmmm...the thought of spending the whole day under the coconut trees sipping caipirinhas.... Sigh...

[Palmy]

you and your coconut pictures...

Beat this..

[paulgila]

nice pics--but where were they taken for all of us "innocent bystanders"?

[amazondk]

Gileno,

Some people around here occaisonally put salt around their coconut trees.  We are a long way from the beach here, about 2000 kms, but does this make any sense?    There are a lot of coconut trees planted on the road out of Manaus.  The local consumption is very great and cocnuts are brought from as far away as Belem.

dk

[Kris]

Dear Gileno Machado,

Thank man for your prompt reply.

and about the details of your camera many thanks.

Iam eager to buy a digital camera in few months time and intentend to upload some of our common palm varieties in and around madras.and as for the curisoity,the feeling is same here.

we expect more photos of palms other than cocos,some exocitic palms from your location would quench the thirst for palms !

i love the location in your photos..keep it comming.

One man one tree

Love,

Kris.

[Gileno Machado]

(amazondk @ Jul. 22 2006,08:17)

QUOTE

Gileno,

Some people around here occaisonally put salt around their coconut trees.

Don and Kris:

Some people here do the same thing (including one of my neighbours) and it seems to work !! I've seen also people hanging socks full of salt in the crowns during the winter, for a slow salt release...others trow salt into the crown, which deposits in the petiole bases.

Well, I've never used these methods with mine and prefered NPK instead, with excellent results so far. My premium coconut trees start fruiting at the age of 3, trunkless, and the clusters rest at ground level. Neglected and underwatered old coconut trees reduce the fruit production dramatically but they never quite stop...I'd say that an adequate fert and irrigation can result in miracles even with established old coconuts.

[Gileno Machado]

(siafu @ Jul. 21 2006,18:07)

QUOTE

Hmmm...the thought of spending the whole day under the coconut trees sipping caipirinhas.... Sigh...

Hey Siafu, you made me recall a funny story:

Europeans (especially Germans and French) love the caipirinhas from NE Brazil. It is an alcoholic drink made with fresh squeezed lemmon, ice, sugar and aguardente, a local destiled sugar cane spirit similar to Rum. European tourists love to buy a special aguardente which comes inside the dehusked coconut shell, as a souvenir.

Some 20 years ago a brazilian girlfriend of mine travelling to London, had the "great" idea of taking a few of those alcoholic touristic coconuts with her in the luggage, for the English friends she was supposed to meet there.  Well, she finally got arrested at Heathrow airport by the Scotland Yard, suspicious of bringing Molotov cocktails into UK... Could you imagine her now... running across a subway station carying a weapon of mass destruction like this...  

[Palmy]

nice pics--but where were they taken for all of us "innocent bystanders"?

Those two were taken in Mazatlan. Mazatlan is in Mexico just east from the tip of baja california.

[Palmy]

Coconuts in Key west

Coconuts

[Gileno Machado]

10 years ago

[Cluster]

Hello Gileno, it is Pedro from last year's in Portugal!

I had never the chance to see this thread before, I have tried to send you an email but not sure it reached you.

Anyway nice to see so many varieties, are you still researching coconuts for their beauty and water taste? What has been your conclusion? Will PM you, take care.

[Mr.SamuraiSword]

beutiful pics everyone.  aint seen any over 45 tall In englewood or venice.  but here is one from my last trip to FL