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Can coconut palm seed survive 0°C/32°F for one day


Firbo

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Hi everyone :)
I recently started researching the germination stage of coconut palms and want to buy some coconut fruit with sprouts inside the shell. We have a greenhouse in the lab, but the seeds will suffer the whole day transportation with a temperature down to 0°C. I'm unsure if the seed can still sprout, so I came here for help.
Thanks.

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I sell sprouted as well as freshly fallen coconuts and ship them. See pics and read the description here https://www.ebay.com/itm/234363524038

There's several factors that I can think of off the top of my head and I'll just mention a few so I don't get long winded.

Each coconut is different.  The overall weight and mass of each nut of a given variety varies widely.  So the amount of time a single nut in a certain size box using the same packaging would cool off will vary depending on the overall size of the nut and density.

The physical size of nuts from various varieties also varies greatly.  Small viable nuts may be 1/4 the size of nuts from a different variety.  I sell small nuts from Green Malayan Dwarf coconuts which can easily be picked up with one hand while it's like trying to "palm" a basketball for others from a different variety.

The number of coconuts being shipped, overall mass, insulation, and type of corrugated cardboard used for the box will also change the rate of radiant cooling.  I use crumpled plastic grocery bags as packing and insulation but I do have fiberglass home insulation that could be used.  Not really relevant to packed nut(s) in a box but I've conducted winter night time testing of the cooling rate of coconuts still on the tree if you're interested.  My reason was to verify that leaving the trees loaded with nuts in the winter helps keep the apical meristem and flowers warm on cool nights.

The temp of the nuts when packed will affect how long it takes for them to cool to a given temp.  A nut packed at 95 F will take longer to get down to say 50 F than one packed at 70F.  Also if the shipping process is known, the shipment can be arranged to keep the nuts as warm as possible during shipping.  As an example I know my local post office sends packages to the larger hub late in the day so a package dropped off at the local post office early in the early morning will be in AC for the day until it gets loaded to be moved to the distribution hub.  A package I give to the local delivery person in the afternoon will ride in the truck till the end of their route in ambient temp then briefly be in AC at the local office before loading to go to the hub.

All that said, I don't think you'd have a problem with coconuts being in transit just one day in 32 F weather.  The nut probably wouldn't drop to freezing temp, the cold may however change the length of time before germination, have never tested that.

I love experimenting with things like this.  My current experiment is germinating coconuts above my septic tank.  While I can germinate coconuts outdoor during the winter here I found I could get them to sprout quicker in the attic.  Then one day I had an epiphany, remembering that when I lived up North the ground was always warmer above septic tanks and snow melted there quicker.  I thought the extra few degrees of heat during the night might speed up germination of coconuts during the winter even better than in the attic which cools off more.  Nuts I thought would sprout in Feb are sprouting already.  So now I'll do a side by side test so to speak and actually mark the dates duration etc. to see how much faster they germinate when over the tank.  Of course the results would only apply locally because of varying environmental conditions but it's fun to experiment.  Maybe it'll help the zone pushers who want to germinate coconuts outside in areas where their night time lows even during the summer months make it slow or impossible to germinate coconuts outside normally.

 

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