The Central Plantation Crops Research Institute (ICAR-CPCRI), Kasargod has been granted a national patent for ‘Manually Operated Coconut Kernel Slicing Machine’ for its invention, from The Patent office, Government of India.
The machine developed by the institute is for slicing coconut kernel. Coconut chips (also a patented technology of CPCRI) was made manually using a potato slicer previous to the invention.
The process was quite cumbersome and time consuming. Coconut chips of uniform size and thickness can be made faster using the machine without any drudgery. The patented machine has been commercialised by the institute and is being used by several entrepreneurs in the coconut chips processing centres all over India, said Dr Anitha Karun, Director (in charge) of CPCRI.
Another patent granted recently is for ‘a controlled release dispenser,' with ordered pore channels, for delivery of semiochemicals of rhinoceros beetle and red palm weevil’ which was developed jointly by CPCRI and Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Department of Science and Technology, Bengaluru.
In the past CPCRI had received seven patents for its machineries for coconut processing and value addition previously.