Coconut (cocos nucifera), often regarded as the “tree of life”, is Malaysia’s 4^th largest industrial crop after oil palm, rubber and rice. A coconut tree can easily bear fruit under a suitable climate, rainfall and good environmental conditions.

Coconut palms are classified according to their size and stature, and are commonly referred to as “Talls” and “Dwarfs”. Although Dwarfs have shorter economic lives than Talls (about 60 years old), they bear fruits earlier, after only 3 years of planting.

In Sagil Estate, we started planting pandan coconut in 2003 on a 54-hectare plot of land. Currently, we are cultivating these 3 high-yielding Dwarfs:

Pandan Coconut

Pandan coconut, commonly known as the Aromatic Green Dwarf, is the premium coconut of choice in the market due to its sweet coconut water and highly aromatic substance that has a strong scent of pandan leaves. This premium variety, popular among consumers due to its wholesomeness and freshness, has a good volume of sweet coconut water while its soft endosperm has a nice jelly-like consistency. It is harvested when it is just 7 to 8 months old when the endosperm is still soft. There are 3 categories based on its physical appearance:

Malayan Red Dwarf and Malayan Yellow Dwarf

Sagil Estate planted the Malayan Red Dwarf (MRD) and the Malayan Yellow Dwarf (MYD) coconut varieties in December 2019 on a 191-hectare land. They will start producing fruit in 3 to 4 years in 2023. The estimated production is around 25,000 to 30,000 unit per hectare a year. MYD and MRD are suitable for coconut milk and ideal for processing of by-products such as coconut oil, coconut jelly, coconut shake and nata de coco (chewy, translucent, jelly-like coconut gel).

The fruit grading depends on the size and weight. While MRD is oval in shape and reddish yellow in colour, MYD is light yellow. Though their average size is smaller (around 24 cm in diameter) and contain less water than other varieties, they are comparatively sweeter, have a faint buttery coconut aroma and a firmer endosperm as they are harvested at an older age.

CN02 - Malayan Red Dwarf (MRD)

CN03 - Malayan Yellow Dwarf (MYD)

Going forward, Sagil Estate is planning to cultivate these 4 types of coconuts by 2024:

They are expected to bear fruit within 3 to 4 years of planting. The estimated production is around 13,000 to 25,000 fruits a year. These 4 varieties are suitable for coconut milk and ideal for the processing of by-products such as coconut oil, coconut jelly, coconut shake and nata de coco.