# Coconut water



## Trithor (Sep 30, 2014)

I have a big problem sourcing coconut water. The coconuts which we get are hard mature brown ones. The green ones with water are almost never available. Today I came across a can of coconut water (not milk or cream). It is a product of Thailand and says 100% pure coconut water, no sugar added, no preservatives, not from concentrate. Has anyone ever considered using canned coconut water (obviously intended as a beverage) for preparation of culture media?


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## TyroneGenade (Sep 30, 2014)

I have had no issue using the mature brown coconuts for coconut water so long as they have coconut water in them... It worked great for my Paph germinations.

If the coconut water is 100%, and undiluted then great! I would be weary... If it has an SGS ISO1001 etc... certificate of quality on the label then you can contact SGS Thailand and ask them for the specs of the product.

Other than that, take a trip to Mozambique and get some coconuts. You can freeze the water away for later use without problems. I portion the stuff out into 1-use volumes.


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## Trithor (Sep 30, 2014)

The marketing company is in Canada. I have sent them a mail, asking them what is in it and how it is prepared. I have opened one can, it has an unusual flavor, very slightly cloudy, with a few suspended white bodies in it (look like a few bits of very soft coconut). According to the web page it is coconut water and only coconut water.
Me going to Mozambique is a bit of a problem, I could end up going scuba diving and doing a whole Robinson thing!


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## troy (Sep 30, 2014)

Using coconut water on paphs?


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## Linus_Cello (Sep 30, 2014)

For coconut milk, an alternative is to boil water and steep dried coconut in it and squeeze the flakes/shredded it's in in cheese cloth. Will this be a sufficient alternative for coconut water (or not since it would be milky)?


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## naoki (Sep 30, 2014)

Linus, you'll get different components from that procedure. Tyrone, I believe that there are quite a bit of difference in the chemical composition and phytohormones between mature vs green coconuts.
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...Y_GDMBR1HTnEB84bd58RDag&bvm=bv.76477589,d.cGE
http://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/14/12/5144
Most of the time people are going for cytokinins (and possibly gibberelins) in green coconut water. Also I believe that there is a paper which shows that the composition is quite different among different sources (countries of origin). So maybe just try it? I have used drinking coconut water for orchids (I didn't get the effects I wanted), but I haven't used it for flasking.


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## NYEric (Sep 30, 2014)

troy said:


> Using coconut water on paphs?



It's for germinating seed.


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## troy (Sep 30, 2014)

Thanks eric


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## TyroneGenade (Sep 30, 2014)

Interesting, Naoki, about the different compositions... But, I can attest to the brown, mature coconuts I bought at Pick n' Pay (Trithor will know what I'm talking about...) got me the desired results as regards Paph germination. I would not hesitate to use it again.


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## Trithor (Oct 1, 2014)

I am getting very good germination results with paphs, but have created a real 'cake mix' of a medium. Now however the pace is picking up a bit and I am making more germination medium than ever, so am looking for a way of simplifying the medium. One thing that I can agree with is that there is a difference in the rate of germination using green coconut water as opposed to mature coconut. The rate is faster using green than mature. I still use brown mature nuts when I can't get the green ones (I have friends bringing the green ones back from Mozambique for me, but supply is poor and erratic, certainly a situation that I need to remedy)


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## naoki (Oct 1, 2014)

Can't you grow a palm tree in SA? Do you think gibberelins like gibberellic acid 3 (GA3) has some effects with orchids? Breaking seed dormancy in orchids is probably quite different from other plants, though.


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## polyantha (Oct 1, 2014)

I am using coconut water from bottles too. If the tag says "Ingredients: 100% coconut water" you should be fine. If it is from concentrate then I would not use it for germination. I have never seen that tough.


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