IN GUYANA, coconut palms are usually grown to produce water, oil and pointer brooms. The other parts of the palm and nut, though useful, are often times discarded. These valuable ‘wastes’ add to the country’s waste management challenge as well as greenhouse gas emissions. Some of this waste, specifically coco-peat, the dust within the coconut husk can be converted and used as a form of growing medium so as to enhance the development of the rooting structure of coconut seedlings.

The National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) is currently conducting a comparative study of coconut seedling root development using coco-peat with the growth medium. This study aims to compare and assess the effects of using coco-peat as a form of growing medium for the germination of coconut seedlings with specific emphasis on the impact on root development.

According to Dr Oudho Homenauth, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NAREI, “The idea is to utilise coconut waste as a soil amendment…So far, the germination of the nuts using the peat is close to 90 per cent…This is significantly higher than the potting mixtures currently used, which is about 75 per cent… Further, there is even more germination done…There is also no need to water as often…I believe this substrate retains moisture and provides the ideal conditions for germination.”

Dr Homenauth related that to conduct the research coco-peat was obtained from the Pomeroon area and various chemical and physical analyses were conducted. Soil samples of the control experiment were analysed to establish a baseline for an experiment. The seedlings were sown in separate experimental pots and monitored during the germination period, after which data regarding germination time, root length and the number of roots will be collected and analysed.

This experiment is being conducted at the Hope Coconut Nursery by Research Assistant, Lalita Gopaul and is being supervised by Bibi Nariefa Abrahim with guidance from Dr Homenuath. Three growing media being used to set the coconuts for this experiment are (1) coco-peat mixed with soil at a 1:2 ratio, (2) soil only and (3) the medium currently used by the Hope Coconut Nursey (rice husk mixed with black sand). The experiment is arranged in a completely randomised design with three replicates per treatment.
3 Treatments × 15 Replications = 45 Coconut Seedlings

Even though the initial stages of this experiment shows that cocopeat is a good soil amendment, the institute will await results before introducing it fully into the farming communities. Thus far, some farmers are using coco-peat on trial on their farms. Debbie Argyle, is a farmer operating at Supply, Region Four. She has partnered with NAREI to establish a demonstration plot for growing onions using coco-peat on her farm.