Ken Tucker, age 9, of Miami, Fla., for his question:
HOW MANY COCONUTS GROW ON ONE COCONUT PALM?
Coconuts grow on the tall, graceful coconut palm trees. A single well tended tree will produce about 100 coconuts each year. Each fruit takes about a year to ripen and the ripe fruit falls from the tree when nature's work is completed.
On coconut plantations, however, coconuts are actually harvested. They are cut every two or three months rather than leaving them on the tree until they fall by themselves.
Each coconut is actually a seed. The seed is a ball of crisp, white, sweet tasting coconut meat covered by a tough brown skin. The seed's hollow center holds a sugary liquid called coconut milk. The coconut seed measures from eight to 12 inches long and from six to 10 inches across.
Solid, dried coconut meat is called copra. Copra contains a valuable oil that is used for cooking and to make margarine and soap. Tropical lands produce millions of tons of copra each year.
About 5,000 medium sized coconuts make one ton of copra.
To make copra, coconuts are split open and dried in the sun or in ovens. Some coconuts are dried by smoking.
The coconut palm is probably native to southeast Asia and the Pacific ocean islands. But man has introduced it to all the tropical and subtropical parts of the world.
A coconut palm tree will stand from 40 to 100 feet high. Large featherlike leaves spread from the top of its branchless trunk.
The tree is very useful. People in the tropics build houses and bridges from its wood and they use the leaves to make thatch roofs. Strips of the leaves can be used to make baskets, hats and mats.
Clusters of coconuts grow among the leaves of the coconut palm.
Each coconut has a smooth light colored rind. Under the rind is a one to two inch husk of reddish brown fibers. The husk and rind surround a brown, woody shell that has three soft spots called eyes at one end. The rind and husk are usually cut away before the coconuts are marketed.
In the tropics, people can plant coconut palms throughout the year. They half bury the coconut in a horizontal position. Within six months, a single leaf sprouts from one of the eyes and pushes through the husk.
Young palm trees can be transplanted after one to four years. The tree will bear fruit in seven or eight years.
Coconut palm trees need a great deal of water and a temperature of at least 72 degrees Fahrenheit most of the year.
Leading coconut growing areas, in order of importance, include the Philippines, Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka and Malaysia.
About 58 percent of a coconut is made up of fat while about 32 percent is carbohydrates. Protein, ash and water make up the final 10 percent.