CPCRI launches portable coconut sap chiller

The Kasaragod-dependent Central Plantation Crops Investigation Institute (CPCRI) has introduced a moveable coconut sap chiller for the collection of hygienic and unfermented sap (‘Kalparasa’) from the coconut spadix.

KB Hebbar, Head of Plant Physiology, Biochemistry and Write-up-Harvest Technology of CPCRI, advised BusinessLine that even though the institute had earlier made a coconut sap chiller, producing of it was a time-consuming approach as it had to be assembled manually. With the improve in demand from customers from the coconut-escalating States for the chiller, the timely source of the unit was a little bit challenging.

He explained now the institute, with the economic aid from the Kochi-dependent Coconut Enhancement Board (CDB), has created and fabricated moulds required for the large-scale production of coconut sap chiller. The moulds have previously been commissioned for the industrial production of the coconut sap chiller.

The new moveable coconut sap chiller is a double jacketed box created of HDPE (Large Density Polyethylene), insulated by polyurethane foam in concerning the jackets. The unit has provision for positioning ice, a ‘Kalparasa’ collection container, a spadix holder, major lid, a funnel and provision to link the box on the tree major. It has a collection capability of three litres of ‘Kalparasa’.

The coconut sap chiller is lighter in weight, h2o proof, simple to link to the spadix, necessitates much less ice, and retains small temperature for a lengthier time period as in contrast to commercially available ice packing containers, he explained.

Electricity efficiency

On the efficiency evaluation carried out on coconut sap chiller at CPCRI and other destinations, he explained the new HDPE chiller is remarkably energy effective and the ice cubes previous almost 24 several hours as against 10-twelve several hours of the current packing containers. It is remarkably price tag efficient, as the production is finished in factories utilizing the moulds. The production price tag has now occur down to close to ₹850 for each piece. This excludes packing, transport and GST. The former design was costing far more than ₹2000 for each piece, he explained.

Nevertheless there was a setback on coconut sap tapping owing to Covid, nonetheless almost three,000 items of the chillers ended up acquired by Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Goa and West Bengal in the previous few months, he explained.

Quite a few farmers and coconut producer businesses have expressed their fascination to procure the chiller not only for tapping coconut but also for palmyra and date palm.

Developed and made by Hebbar and AC Mathew, Principal Scientist at CPCRI, the institute has specified licence to the Mangaluru-dependent Kalyaniram Polyplast Pvt Ltd to manufacture, pack and source the requisite figures of chillers to conclusion consumers on behalf of CPCRI for those people who indicator technology transfer with the institute.

He explained the sap gathered by coco-sap chilller at small temperature is entirely distinct from the ‘neera’ gathered by traditional strategy with or without having preservatives, and for this reason it was named as ‘Kalparasa’. He explained that ‘Kalparasa’ has been granted trade mark by Mental House India. Sap gathered utilizing the coco-sap chiller is golden brown in color, delicious and free of charge from contaminants these kinds of as bugs, ants, and pollen and dust particles. It contained a lot of well being marketing substances like polyphenols, antioxidants, vitamins, amino acids and minerals, he extra.