Cracking Pili Nuts

pili nut image - pili nut shells
Philippines
September 10, 2011 2:04am CST
I'm fun of eating nuts;Pistachio,Almonds,Cashew and Peanuts are among my favorites.Recently,Pili Nuts got my interest when a friend brought from Bicol,Philippines with the shell still intact.We tried everything we could to open the shell but we opened not even one. I just learned that Pili Nuts,is a thriving industry here in the Philippines.The problem is growing,reproduction and even cracking Pili Nuts is so tough.First it will take 50 to 70 days of Pili from seeds to germinate from the day of sowing.Then out of the grown trees 50% turns out to be male incapable of bearing fruits and could only be known after 6 to 7 years,when the trees reaches it's flowering stage.The trees will bear black fruits which has an internal shell that contains the nuts.The shell is so tough that traditionally you will need a bolo or a hammer just to crack it.Now I think that Pili nuts are underpriced for all the efforts that you'll need to produce that small,white nut. Do have any idea or suggestion to improve the production of Pili Nuts?Do you know of easier methods in cracking Pili shells?
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