The Kalpa Shatabdi variety of coconut developed by the Central Plantation Crops and Research Institute (CPCRI), under the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR), Kasaragod, Kerala. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The Central Plantation Crops and Research Institute (CPCRI), under the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR), Kasaragod, Kerala has come out with a new value added product of coconut which is a flavoured ready to drink beverage.
The product named ‘Kalpa Bliz’ will be released at the World Coconut Day function at the institute on Monday, September 2, according to K. B. Hebbar, Director of the institute.
Mr. Hebbar told The Hindu that the almond flavoured beverage tastes good. “The product is the result of over two years’ of research. The institute is now ready for its technology transfer. We have been getting enquires for technology transfer,” the Director said. The beverage contains no added preservative.
“It contains healthy fat (lauric acid), minerals and folate,” Mr. Hebbar said.
In nutritional parameter, flavoured coconut milk contains 94 kcal (kilocalorie) of energy (per 100 ml) against 81 kcal of energy in flavoured milk (double toned dairy milk), the Director said adding that coconut milk can be prepared using both sugar and jaggery.
Coconut for circular economy
Meanwhile, this year’s theme of World Coconut Day is ‘Coconut for a circular economy: Building partnership for maximum value.’ A circular economy is an economic system that aims to reduce waste while making the best use of resources in a sustainable manner.
Mr. Hebbar said that the CPCRI has already imbibed the concept of circular economy and accordingly reoriented its research activities to develop innovative technologies.
He said two climate resilient coconut varieties — Kalpa Suvarna and Kalpa Shatabdi — released by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 11, 2024 is a boon to farmers of drought affected regions of Kerala and Karnataka.
To address challenges of climate change, the institute in the recent past has released Kalpa Ratna, a drought tolerant multi-purpose variety of coconut suitable for tender nut, copra and sap production. In addition, it has also released Kalpa Vajra, a root (wilt) disease tolerant variety.
Another challenge of climate change is temperature rise and hence the thrust is to develop temperature tolerant varieties. Similarly, advanced breeding and molecular tools are employed to evolve varieties with special traits like high milk, soft kernel, aroma, high kalparasa and sweet kernel which are amenable for processing and cost effective, he said.
Quality seedling production at affordable cost is another challenge in coconut. QR code based tagging of seedlings ensures the supply of disease free materials across the regions. The institute has also developed a ground pollination kit.
“The institute is striving hard to get a breakthrough in developing a rapid and reproducible in vitro multiplication protocol for the propagation of elite coconut genotypes. This not only helps in meeting the planting material requirements of the farmers, but also opens the crop to frontier areas of research of gene or genomic editing of specific traits,” he said.
