Plantation Crops

Climatic requirement

Agro climatic zone
• Arecanut is being grown in the zone 12 consisting of Western Plains and Ghats as well as the North Eastern Hills.

Temperature
• The temperature should be a minimum of 4oC (at Mohitnagar in West Bengal) and a maximum of 40oC (at Vittal in Karnataka and Kannara in Kerala). However, the palm flourishes well within a temperature range of 14oC to 36oC.

Rainfall
• Arecanut requires abundant and well distributed rainfall. It grows well in tracts of very high rainfall, where annual showers may go up to or even more than 4500 mm. But it also survives in low rainfall areas having 750 mm annual precipitation. During prolonged dry spell palms should be irrigated.

Soil
• Arecanut cultivation is predominant in gravelly laterite soils of red clay type of Southern Kerala and Coastal Karnataka. Arecanut needs deep and well-drained soil preferably not less than 2 meters, for development of root system. Laterite, red loam and alluvial soils are most suitable.
• In plain region or Maidan part of Karnataka, it is cultivated in fertile clay loam soils. In areas where tank irrigation is common practice, the soils may have admixture of tank silt. Deep black fertile clay loam soils supported luxuriant palm growth.