High-value coconut variety seedling rapid cultivation method based on day and night differential carbon dioxide enrichment and illumination coupling management
By using a method of diurnal differential carbon dioxide enrichment coupled with light management, the problem of long coconut seedling cultivation cycle has been solved, enabling the rapid cultivation of high-value coconut seedlings, shortening the seedling cycle and improving plant quality.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202511759541.7
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2025-11-27
- Publication Date
- 2026-02-17
AI Technical Summary
Traditional coconut seedling cultivation has a long cycle, which limits the turnover efficiency of seedling facilities, increases management costs, and delays the time when high-value coconut varieties enter the production period.
The method of co-managing diurnal carbon dioxide enrichment with light, including maintaining high CO2 concentration during the light period and nighttime ventilation, combined with dynamic light and humidity management, significantly shortens the seedling cycle and improves plant quality.
The seedling cultivation cycle of coconut seedlings was successfully shortened from 12 months to 6 months, resulting in a significant improvement in plant quality, thicker stems, increased leaf area and stress resistance, an 80% increase in net photosynthetic rate, and accelerated biomass accumulation.
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Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This application relates to the field of plant seedling propagation technology, and in particular to a method for rapid cultivation of high-value coconut variety seedlings based on diurnal differential carbon dioxide enrichment and light coupling management. Background Technology
[0002] Yellow dwarf coconut and Sri Lanka tall coconut are the main commercially cultivated coconut varieties internationally. Due to their high fruit production efficiency and strong adaptability, they have extremely high economic value in the global tropical agricultural market.
[0003] Traditional coconut seedling cultivation (especially the acclimatization from seedlings to large, plantable seedlings) typically requires a long period. It can take up to 12 months or even longer for conventional coconut seedlings to reach commercial planting standards. This lengthy seedling period not only limits the turnover efficiency of seedling cultivation facilities and occupies a large amount of land for seedling cultivation, but also accumulates high management costs and delays the entry of high-value coconut varieties into the production stage.1 Therefore, developing a technology that can significantly shorten the seedling cultivation cycle while ensuring high-quality seedlings is a key requirement for the current industrialization and promotion of high-value coconut varieties.
[0004] Existing research has explored the application of carbon dioxide enrichment in coconut seedling cultivation. For example, some literature reports that supplying high concentrations of CO2 (e.g., 1,600 ppm during the photoperiod and maintaining an ambient concentration of 350 ppm at night) can effectively promote plant establishment and improve survival rate during the in vitro culture or ex vitro establishment stage of coconut seedlings.
[0005] However, existing technologies have failed to provide a coupled management scheme for light, CO2, and nighttime ventilation during this critical growth stage. This application solves the technical challenge of accelerating seedling growth without sacrificing plant quality through this coupled management. Summary of the Invention
[0006] In view of this, this application provides a method for the rapid cultivation of high-value coconut seedlings based on diurnal differential carbon dioxide enrichment and light coupling management. By utilizing specific diurnal differential carbon dioxide enrichment, dynamic light control and humidity management conditions, the seedling cultivation cycle is significantly shortened and the morphology and physiological quality of the plants are improved. This method can effectively solve the technical problems of low efficiency, long cycle and easy excessive growth (thin stems, sparse leaves and reduced stress resistance) of existing seedling cultivation technology.
[0007] This application provides a method for rapid cultivation of high-value coconut variety seedlings based on diurnal differential carbon dioxide enrichment and light-coupled management, including the following steps:
[0008] S1. Seedling selection and treatment period setting: Select healthy, high-value coconut seedlings with a height greater than 50 cm and an age of 6-8 months, and carry out intensive treatment for at least 2 months.
[0009] S2. Daytime CO2 enrichment management: During the period when seedlings receive light, the CO2 concentration in the greenhouse is maintained within the range of 1200~1600 ppm through artificial control.
[0010] S3. Nighttime Low CO2 Ventilation Management: During the dark period, turn on the ventilation system to ensure that the CO2 concentration in the greenhouse drops to a level close to the current atmospheric concentration.
[0011] S4. Dynamic light adaptation management: Gradually reduce the shading rate of the seedling environment to 30-50% to enable medium-sized seedlings to adapt to higher light intensity, thereby effectively utilizing the enriched CO2; during periods of insufficient light, use plant grow lights to supplement light; during periods of strong tropical light, combine short-term shading with water spraying to avoid plant dehydration and light inhibition caused by the superposition of high temperature and strong light.
[0012] S5. Routine Management: Throughout the intensive treatment period, regular watering is required to ensure that the seedlings are always kept in a moist environment, and medium-level elements should be supplemented regularly to ensure sufficient nutrient supply to support the accumulation of large amounts of biomass required for rapid growth.
[0013] Existing technologies primarily target the survival rate and in vitro establishment of young, small-sized (2-5 months old) tissue culture seedlings. These coconut tissue culture seedlings differ fundamentally from the seedlings used in this application in terms of age, physiological condition, nutritional requirements, and even intended use. This application targets seedlings (non-tissue culture seedlings) directly cultivated from seeds, with fully developed root systems and above-ground parts, specifically focusing on high-value coconut varieties that are already planted and in their vigorous growth stage (6-8 months old, 50cm tall).
[0014] Tissue culture seedlings typically have extremely low light requirements during the acclimatization period, sometimes even requiring strictly low-light (e.g., <10,000 Lux) cultivation, and their root and stem structures are not yet fully developed. Therefore, CO2 enrichment programs for tissue culture seedlings usually do not need to focus on balancing high light intensity with high CO2 concentration.
[0015] Conversely, the seedlings used in this application already possess larger roots, leaves, and stems with greater metabolic capacity. At this stage, the primary physiological goal of the seedlings has shifted from simple survival to maximizing biomass accumulation and stem thickening to form robust, resilient, large seedlings suitable for transplanting. For larger plants, simply increasing CO2 concentration is insufficient to accelerate growth; it must be coupled with higher and dynamically adaptive light intensity (30,000 to 40,000 Lux, or even higher full illumination) and precise light / shade management to effectively drive high photosynthesis under CO2 conditions and avoid photoinhibition or photosynthetic product feedback inhibition.
[0016] Preferably, in step S1, the coconut variety is the yellow dwarf coconut or the Sri Lanka tall coconut.
[0017] Preferably, in step S2, the seedlings receive light for 8-10 hours per day.
[0018] Preferably, in step S2, the CO2 concentration inside the greenhouse is 1400 ppm.
[0019] Preferably, in step S3, the CO2 concentration in the greenhouse is reduced to 400-500 ppm.
[0020] Preferably, in step S4, the period of insufficient light is the rainy season or insufficient light caused by indoor seedling environment, and the light intensity is less than 30,000 Lux.
[0021] Preferably, in step S4, the supplementary light intensity is controlled to be 30,000~40,000 Lux, and the supplementary light time is 8~10 h.
[0022] Preferably, in step S4, the period of intense tropical sunlight is midday in summer, and the light intensity exceeds 60,000 Lux.
[0023] Preferably, in step S4, the shading time period is from 11:00 to 15:00.
[0024] Preferably, in step S5, the medium-quantity elements are water-soluble fertilizer and seaweed extract.
[0025] Compared with the prior art, this application has the following advantages:
[0026] 1. The rapid cultivation method for high-value coconut seedlings in this application focuses on medium-sized seedlings with a height of 50cm or more and an age of 6-8 months. The core of this method is to implement high-intensity diurnal CO2 enrichment and light acclimatization management during a 2-month intensive treatment period. Through the coupled management of diurnal CO2 enrichment and dynamic light, the extraordinary growth of high-value coconut seedlings is achieved.
[0027] 2. Significantly reduced seedling growth period: The method applied for in this application successfully shortened the seedling period for high-value coconut varieties to reach commercial planting specifications from the traditional 12 months to 6 months, reducing the seedling growth period by about 50%, which greatly improves facility turnover rate and economic benefits.
[0028] 3. Significant improvement in plant quality: The 6-month-old seedlings cultivated using the method described in this application have reached or exceeded the level of conventionally cultivated 12-month-old seedlings in all morphological and physiological indicators. In particular, they show significant advantages in stem thickening, leaf area and aboveground dry weight accumulation (the aboveground dry weight of 6-month-old seedlings is at least 40% higher than that of conventionally cultivated 12-month-old seedlings), and the seedlings have stronger stress resistance.
[0029] 4. Enhanced photosynthetic physiological activity: The enhanced treatment by the method of this application significantly improved the net photosynthetic rate of seedlings (the net photosynthetic rate of the cultivated seedlings was at least 80% higher than that of seedlings cultivated with environmental CO2 concentration (400 ppm)), proving that it has higher light energy utilization efficiency. Physiological measurement results showed that high concentration of CO2 (1400 ppm) significantly improved the maximum carboxylation rate and stomatal conductance of leaves, which scientifically demonstrated that the treatment effectively activated the photosynthetic carbon assimilation pathway, thereby accelerating the accumulation of biomass.
[0030] 5. The key to the method in this application is to turn on the ventilation system at night to reduce CO2 to the ambient level (400~500 ppm), which is crucial to avoid feedback inhibition of photosynthetic products. If a high concentration of CO2 is maintained, the starch accumulated at night cannot be effectively exported, and instead it will inhibit the activity of photosynthetic enzymes (such as Rubisco) the next day, resulting in a decrease in the CO2 enrichment effect. Therefore, day-night differential speed management is the core mechanism to achieve continuous high carbon assimilation efficiency and ensure rapid and healthy plant growth. Detailed Implementation
[0031] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this application clearer, the technical solutions in this application will be clearly and completely described below. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of this application, not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments in this application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this application.
[0032] Unless otherwise specified, the experimental methods used in the embodiments of this application are all conventional methods.
[0033] In the following examples and comparative examples, unless otherwise specified, all raw materials can be prepared by commercial purchase or conventional methods.
[0034] Materials and Experimental Design
[0035] This application discloses the implementation process, comparative experiments, and key effect data in detail through simulated experimental data to support the accelerated cultivation effect of this application in the seedling stage of high-value coconut varieties.
[0036] Test materials: Seedlings of high-value coconut varieties, such as the Yellow Dwarf Coconut and the Sri Lanka Tall Coconut. Healthy seedlings of uniform size and in the mid-stage of seedling development were selected, with an initial average plant height of 55 cm, an average stem diameter of 15 mm, and an initial age of 6 months.
[0037] Experimental site and facilities: Greenhouses located in tropical regions (such as Sanya City, Yazhou District, and Batou Base in Hainan Province) with the ability to precisely control CO2 concentration and light intensity.
[0038] Experimental design: A completely randomized design was adopted, with a total of 4 CO2 concentration treatments (400 ppm, 800 ppm, 1200 ppm, and 1600 ppm), and each treatment was replicated 5 times.
[0039] Control group setting: The control group (CK) adopted conventional seedling raising methods, that is, the CO2 concentration was maintained at the environmental level (400 ppm) and conventional shading (e.g. 70%) management was adopted, and the total seedling raising period was 12 months.
[0040] Example 1: The optimal enhancement treatment scheme (1400 ppmCO2) in this example
[0041] Processing flow:
[0042] The enhanced treatment period is set at 2 months.
[0043] 1. CO2 Management: During the day (8:00~18:00), precisely control the CO2 concentration to 1400 ppm. At night (18:00~8:00), shut off the CO2 supply and turn on the ventilation system to ensure the concentration drops rapidly to 400~500 ppm.
[0044] 2. Light and Shading Management: Shading nets are set to provide 40% shading. During periods of insufficient light (rainy seasons or indoor seedling environments with light intensity below 30,000 Lux), supplemental lighting is provided using grow lights, with the intensity controlled at 35,000 Lux. Strict adherence to short-term shading (shading period from 11:00 to 15:00) and water spraying for moisture retention is required during periods of high temperature and strong light (summer midday, with light intensity exceeding 60,000 Lux).
[0045] 3. Water and fertilizer management: Keep the substrate moist. Apply medium-element water-soluble fertilizer and seaweed extract regularly (e.g., every 30 days).
[0046] After the treatment period ended (when the seedlings reached 8 months of age), the treated seedlings were transferred to routine management for 4 months, so that their total growth period reached 12 months. The size of the treated seedlings was compared with that of the seedlings at 6 months of age and the indicators of the seedlings at 12 months of age under routine cultivation, so as to quantify the acceleration effect. The results are shown in Table 1 below.
[0047] Table 1: Comparison of growth indicators of tested coconut seedlings: control group (December) and Example 1 (June)
[0048]
[0049] As shown in Table 1, the enhanced cultivation method described in this application enabled the tested coconut seedlings to achieve height, stem diameter, leaf area, and biomass that met or exceeded those of conventionally cultivated 12-month-old seedlings within a mere 6-month growth period. Most importantly, the increase in aboveground dry weight and stem diameter (57.7% and 21.9%, respectively) was significantly higher than that in plant height (7.1%), indicating that carbon assimilation products were efficiently allocated to structural tissues and biomass accumulation. The significant thickening of the stem is a direct manifestation of the seedlings' robustness and high resistance, completely avoiding the excessive growth phenomenon commonly seen under rapid growth conditions.
[0050] Example 2: Comparison of physiological indicators and verification of mechanism
[0051] To demonstrate the effectiveness of the invention from a physiological perspective, at the end of the treatment period (8 months of age), a portable photosynthesis meter was used to measure indicators such as net photosynthetic rate of the seedlings. The results are shown in Table 2 below.
[0052] Table 2: Comparison of physiological indicators of tested coconut seedlings: control group (400 ppm) vs. Example 1 (1400 ppm)
[0053]
[0054] As shown in Table 2, the net photosynthetic rate (Amax) nearly doubled, providing direct physiological evidence for the accelerated growth observed in this application. This indicates that under the coupled management of a CO2 concentration of 1400 ppm and high light intensity, the seedlings achieved extremely high photosynthetic efficiency. High CO2 not only ensured a sufficient supply of substrate for photosynthesis but also likely stimulated the activity or quantity of the key photosynthetic enzyme Rubisco, increasing the upper limit of CO2 fixation by the plant using light energy. Simultaneously, the increased chlorophyll content (increased SPAD value) further confirms that the seedlings possess superior nutritional status and sustained photosynthetic potential.
[0055] Example 3: CO2 concentration optimization experiment
[0056] To determine 1400 ppm as the optimal value, this application conducted a multi-concentration gradient experiment. Under the same conditions of light, nighttime ventilation, and water and fertilizer management, the effects of different CO2 concentration treatments on biomass accumulation in the tested coconut seedlings (6-month treatment for 2 months) were compared, and the results are shown in Table 3 below.
[0057] Table 3: Effects of different CO2 concentrations on seedling biomass accumulation
[0058]
[0059] As shown in Table 3, a CO2 concentration of 1400 ppm exhibited the best results in terms of net photosynthetic rate and aboveground dry weight accumulation, achieving the highest carbon assimilation efficiency and biomass conversion rate. When the concentration was further increased to 1600 ppm, the efficiency began to decline slightly, which may be related to metabolic energy limitation or photosynthetic product output balance. Therefore, this application determined 1200 ppm to 1600 ppm, preferably 1400 ppm, as the optimal implementation range.
[0060] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of this application, and are not intended to limit them. Although this application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some or all of the technical features therein. Such modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application.
Claims
1. A method for rapid cultivation of high-value coconut variety seedlings based on diurnal differential carbon dioxide enrichment and light-coupled management, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: S1. Seedling selection and treatment period setting: Select healthy, high-value coconut seedlings with a height greater than 50 cm and an age of 6-8 months, and carry out intensive treatment for at least 2 months. S2. Daytime CO2 enrichment management: During the period when seedlings receive light, the CO2 concentration in the greenhouse is maintained within the range of 1200~1600 ppm through artificial control. S3. Nighttime Low CO2 Ventilation Management: During the dark period, turn on the ventilation system to ensure that the CO2 concentration in the greenhouse drops to a level close to the current atmospheric concentration. S4. Dynamic light adaptation management: Gradually reduce the shading rate of the seedling environment to 30-50% to enable medium-sized seedlings to adapt to higher light intensity, thereby effectively utilizing the enriched CO2; during periods of insufficient light, use plant grow lights to supplement light; during periods of strong tropical light, combine short-term shading with water spraying to avoid plant dehydration and light inhibition caused by the superposition of high temperature and strong light. S5. Routine Management: Throughout the intensive treatment period, regular watering is required to ensure that the seedlings are always kept in a moist environment, and medium-level elements should be supplemented regularly to ensure sufficient nutrient supply to support the accumulation of large amounts of biomass required for rapid growth.
2. The method for rapid cultivation of high-value coconut variety seedlings based on diurnal differential carbon dioxide enrichment and light-coupled management according to claim 1, characterized in that, In step S1, the coconut variety is either the yellow dwarf coconut or the Sri Lanka tall coconut.
3. The method for rapid cultivation of high-value coconut variety seedlings based on diurnal differential carbon dioxide enrichment and light-coupled management according to claim 1, characterized in that, In step S2, the seedlings receive light for 8-10 hours per day.
4. The method for rapid cultivation of high-value coconut variety seedlings based on diurnal differential carbon dioxide enrichment and light-coupled management according to claim 1, characterized in that, In step S2, the CO2 concentration inside the greenhouse is 1400 ppm.
5. The method for rapid cultivation of high-value coconut variety seedlings based on diurnal differential carbon dioxide enrichment and light-coupled management according to claim 1, characterized in that, In step S3, the CO2 concentration in the greenhouse is reduced to 400-500 ppm.
6. The method for rapid cultivation of high-value coconut variety seedlings based on diurnal differential carbon dioxide enrichment and light-coupled management according to claim 1, characterized in that, In step S4, the period of insufficient light is the rainy season or insufficient light caused by indoor seedling environment, and the light intensity is less than 30,000 Lux.
7. The method for rapid cultivation of high-value coconut variety seedlings based on diurnal differential carbon dioxide enrichment and light-coupled management according to claim 1, characterized in that, In step S4, the supplementary light intensity is controlled to be 30,000~40,000 Lux, and the supplementary light time is 8~10 h.
8. The method for rapid cultivation of high-value coconut variety seedlings based on diurnal differential carbon dioxide enrichment and light-coupled management according to claim 1, characterized in that, In step S4, the period of intense tropical sunlight is midday in summer, and the light intensity exceeds 60,000 Lux.
9. The method for rapid cultivation of high-value coconut variety seedlings based on diurnal differential carbon dioxide enrichment and light-coupled management according to claim 1, characterized in that, In step S4, the shading period is from 11:00 to 15:
00.
10. The method for rapid cultivation of high-value coconut variety seedlings based on diurnal differential carbon dioxide enrichment and light-coupled management according to claim 1, characterized in that, In step S5, the medium-quantity elements are water-soluble fertilizer and seaweed extract.