CPCRI’s patented ‘coconut sap chiller’ helps get quality neera

A single of the important makes use of of palm trees is the tapping of sap from it to be marketed as a beverage. In the standard strategy, the sap from coconut trees – acknowledged as neera – is gathered in open earthen pots, leading to its contamination and its fermentation.

Now, an invention by the Kasaragod-primarily based Central Plantation Crops Analysis Institute (CPCRI) has aided to get above these troubles, serving to farmers to get quality sap.

‘Coconut sap chiller’, CPCRI’s invention of amassing neera from coconut spadix beneath neat affliction utilizing ice box, has been granted a patent by Intellectual Residence of India.

KB Hebbar, Head (Plant Physiology, Biochemistry and Put up-Harvest Technological know-how) at CPCRI, advised BusinessLine that he – along with Augustine Joseph, a farmer-entrepreneur from Udupi – experienced applied for a patent as inventors in 2014 and it wasgranted on July thirty this 12 months.

Mentioning the attempts at the rear of the achievement, he mentioned this invention was a breakthrough technology for the selection of hygienic and unfermented neera as early as 2013.

How standard strategy works

In the standard strategy, neera is gathered in open earthen pots with lime coating from the inside of. On the other hand, the sap thus gathered remains unhygienic as it suffers from contamination from insects, ants, pollen, dust and so forth, and it receives partly fermented beneath ambient problems.

As a outcome, the sap is generally used for the planning of alcoholic consume – toddy. He mentioned that coconut tapping was beneath excise command in a lot of States because of to non-availability of scientific selection techniques.

Start of a new system

Hebbar mentioned, the selection at first involved attaching a PVC adaptor to the slice close of the spadix, and a pipe draining the sap to a container housed in the ice box with ice cubicles.

When this technology was commercialised to Augustine Joseph, he uncovered that neera gathered during the day time was getting partly fermented because of to its exposure to sunlight during the move by way of the pipe. The ice in the box lasted only 6-8 several hours, whilst it needed to very last at least 12-fourteen several hours in concerning the two tappings adopted in a day.

Looking at this, a want was felt for a customised box the place the spadix to be tapped would be inside of the box, and neera from the slice close would instantly trickle to the container placed inside of the box. CPCRI and Augustine, who is a technology transferee from CPCRI, jointly worked and developed a box from domestically readily available substance which was later referred to as a ‘coconut sap chiller’.

Hebbar mentioned it is a easy PVC pipe foundation modified like a box. The box is insulated externally by thermocol and rexin components acquiring an inlet (for spadix insertion), and a cap at the prime close for inserting ice cubes and extracting filled neera selection container.

Good quality remains intact

As the box is absolutely shut from all the sides, there is no opportunity for entry of insects and ants, and also the ice dice lasts for 12-thirteen several hours and the temperature inside of is managed at all around 4°C.

He mentioned the neera gathered at 4°C is in its authentic kind and retained all its attributes intact. It is not only a incredibly superior wellness consume but also conveniently amenable for processing into several benefit-additional solutions.

He mentioned the bodily, chemical, biochemical, sensory and microbial assessment done on sap’s sugar, protein, amino acids, nutritional vitamins, phenolics, anti-oxidants, minerals and so forth. uncovered that the neera gathered by the chiller is significantly outstanding to not only over parameters but also in terms of taste, flavour aroma and so forth. from neera gathered by standard strategy.

Subsequent this, the sap gathered by chiller strategy is named as ‘Kalparas’ and registered beneath trademark as a non-alcoholic beverage. Hebbar mentioned it is suitable to be marketed as a fresh beverage or nutritive consume mainly because of its nutritional attributes.

So significantly, CPCRI has commercialised this technology to fifty six entrepreneurs and coconut producer providers in the country.