About Cocoa

:: About THE CROP - COCOA ::

Technology
Cultivation
Cocoa ( Theobroma cacao L. ) is a native of Amazon region of
South America. The bulk of it is produced in the tropical areas of
the African continent. There are over 20 species in the genus but
the cocoa tree Theobroma cacao is the only one cultivated widely.
Cocoa being a tropical crop, India offers considerable scope for the
development. Cocoa is mainly grown in Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra
Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

Importance:
Though cocoa has been known as the beverage crop even before tea or coffee, it is relatively a new crop
in India. Cocoa being primarily an item of confectionery industries is the produce of Cacao plant mostly
grown as a companion crop interspersed within the irrigated Coconut and /or Arecanut gardens. Even
though Cocoa comes under the definition of plantation crops pure plantation of cocoa as such is absent in
India. The commercial cultivation of cocoa however commenced from 1960s only. Various Cocoa
products are confectionery in nature and consumable with palatable ness. Internationally it is an item
largely consumed in developed countries. India has gained a foreign exchange of nearly Rs. 9.00 crores
in 1995-96 and Rs. 6.00 crores in 1996-97 by way of export of cocoa beans and its products from India.
At present the global production and consumption of cocoa is around 27.00 lakh MT, compared to this,
Indias production is meager i.e. 10,000 MT.

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Climate:
Rainfall
Average rainfall of 1250-3000 mm. per annum and preferably between 1500-2000mm. with a dry season
of not more than 3 months with less than 100mm. rain per month is ideal, but the quantity is less
important than distribution. Rainfall can be supplemented with irrigation during dry months.
Temperature
Temperature varying between 30-32
0
C mean maximum and 18-21
0
C mean minimum but around 25
0
C is
considered to be a favourable. It cant be grown commercially in areas where the minimum temperature
fall below 10
0
C and annual average temperature is less than 21
0
C.

Humidity
This is uniformly high in cocoa-growing areas, often 100% at night, falling to 70-80 % by day, sometimes
low during the dry season. The most marked effect was on leaf area, plants growing at low humidity ( 50-
60%) having larger leaves and greater leaf area than plants growing at medium (70-80%) and high (90-
95%) humidity under the latter conditions leaves are small and tend to be curled and withered at the tip.
The other effects of humidity concern the spread of fungal diseases and the difficulties of drying and
storage.

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Soil
Cocoa is grown on a wide range of soil types and the standards for soil suitable for cocoa vary
considerably. Cocoa trees are more sensitive to moisture stress than other tropical crops. In addition
cocoa trees are sensitive to water logging. While they can withstand flooding, they will not tolerate
stagnant, water logged conditions. The depth of the soil should be at least 1.5m. The best soil for cocoa is
forest soil rich in humus. The soil should be such as allowing easy penetration of roots capable of
retaining moisture during summer and allowing circulation of air and moisture. Clay loams and sandy
loams are suitable. Shallow soils should be avoided. A minimum requirement of 3.5% organic matter say
2% Carbon in the top 15cm. is ideal for growing cocoa plantation. Cocoa is grown on soils with a wide
range of PH from 6-7.5 where major nutrients and trace elements will be available. Cocoa doest not come
up in coastal sandy soils where coconut flourish.

Selection of planting material:

Cocoa can be propagated through seeds or by vegetative means. For raising seedlings, seeds of mature
pods are taken from high yielding mother plants. The mother plants selected should yield more than 100
pods per year and should have medium or large green pods with an average dry bean weight of not less
than one gram. A more suitable procedure for planting good quality seedling will be to collect hybrid
seeds from bi clonal or polyclonal seed gardens involving superior self- incompatible parents.
The seeds generally lose their viability after seven days of harvest. To avoid these drop in viability during
long periods of storage, the extracted seeds may be stored in moist charcoal and then packed in
polythene bags.

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Potting mixture and time of sowing:

The normal potting mixture with farm yard manure, sand and soil in equal proportions is good for raising
cocoa seedlings. Though cocoa seeds germinate at any time of the year, the best period of sowing the
seeds in nursery is December- January so that four to six months old seedlings will become available for
field planting by the onset of the monsoon in the traditional areas.

Method of sowing:

The seeds are to be sown with the helium end facing downwards or are sown flat. The seeds should not
be placed too deep in the soil. The seeds start germinating in a weeks time but the process may continue
for another week. Generally 90% of the seeds germinate. Regular watering is essential to keep the soil
moist. Over watering should be avoided in order to check the outbreaks of diseases.

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Selection of seedlings for field planting:

Four to six months old seedlings are generally used for field planting. Since seedling vigour and final yield
are closely related, the seedlings for field planting should be selected based on seedling vigour. Seedling
vigour can be estimated based on height of seedlings and stem girth.

Propagation:

Vegetative propagation: Large scale production of superior planting material is possible in cocoa through
vegetative means like budding and grafting of which budding is the easiest. The different budding
methods feasible are T , inverted T, patch and modified Forkert. The new method of micro budding also
may be followed.
Selection of root stocks and bud wood: Seedlings of about 60-90 days are generally used as root stock.
While selecting root stock, care should be taken to see that both root stock and scion are of same
thickness and physiological age. Bud wood from chupons can be taken for budding. The patch to be
taken should be above 2.5 cm. long and 0.5cm. wide with a single vigorous bud on it. Bark of the same
size is removed from the root stock and the bud patch is inserted. It is then tied with grafting tape. The
patch selected should have bud that is visible to the naked eye but it should not have signs of
proliferation. Even though bud wood freshly collected can be used for budding, pre-curing of bud wood is
found to increase the percentage of success. Such a pre-curing consists of removing the lamina portions
of all the leaves from the region of bud stick chosen. The petiole stump will fall off in about 10 days and
the buds would have been initiated to grow. Buds may now be extracted from the pre-cured portion. If the
root stocks are less than four months old, the bud wood selected should also be green or greenish
brown.

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1.

A healthy seedling
ready for budding
2.

Preparing rootstock
removing bud patch
3.

Bud patch removed
from scion shoot
4.

Tying budded portion after
inserting the patch
5.

Budding tape removed
21 days after budding
6.

Sprouted bud
7.

Seedling shoot above the
sprout snapped back

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After care :

About three weeks after budding, the grafting tape is removed. If there is successful bud union, a vertical
cut is made half way through the stem above the bud and the stock portion is snapped back. Such
snapped root stock portion is cut and removed only after the bud has grown sufficiently with at least two
leaves hardened. After about four to six months, they are ready for field planting. Care should be taken to
remove the new sprouts from the root stock portion.

Shade:
Cocoa needs shade for its natural habitat young cocoa plants grow best with 50% full sunlight. As the tree
grows, its shade requirement is reduced.

Varieties

There are three major varietal groups, namely, Criollo, Forestero and Trinitario. Among these, Forestero
is the one that is commercially grown all over the world. It is high yielding more resistant to pest and
diseases and more tolerant to drought compared to Criollo. Some of the important varieties developed
are furnished separately.

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Planting method:

Cocoa is planted as a pure, mixed crop or intercrop. When planted as a pure crop, Dadap (Erythnina
lithosperma) is planted at 3x 3m spacing to provide shade. Dadap needs pruning every year. For more
permanent shade, Albizzia stipulate can be planted adopting 9x9 or 12x12m spacings. This requires 4 to
6 years to develop proper canopy to provide sufficient shade. Protection from north east winds by planting
wind-breaks is also necessary. Cocoa can be planted as intercrop in coconut gardens provided the
spacing of coconut is sufficient to provide enough shade and the soil is suited to cocoa. In arecanut
gardens too, cocoa can be planted as intercrop. The spacing of arecanut should not be less than 2.7 x
2.7 m. The planting hole should be at least the same size as to hold the basket or polythene bag in which
seedlings are raised. Planting should coincide with the onset of monsoon but in places where irrigation
facilities are available planting can be done throughout the year.

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Nutrition and irrigation :

Application of organic manures will be useful in the early establishment period. It may not be necessary
after about three to five years as cocoa litter will be the rich an abounded source of organic matter. An
annual application of 100g N, 40g P2O5 and 140g K2o per plant per year in two equal split doses is
recommended. During the first year of planting the plants may be given 1/3rd of the above dose, while the
second and third year 2/3rd and full dose of fertilizers applied. While applying manures and fertilizers,
care should be taken to open only shallow basins around the plants (radius of 1.5m for adult cocoa) and
to avoid serious damage to the surface feeding root systems. The radius of the basins should be
proportionately smaller for young cocoa. Providing adequate irrigation helps in increasing the yield by
about 30 % both in mono as well as in mixed crop. Irrigation could beneficially be given once in a week in
dry months.

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Pruning and training:

Pruning is an important continuous operation in cocoa. Cocoa grows in a series of stories. The chupon or
vertical branch of the seedlings terminates at the jorquette when four or five branches develop. Further
chupon develops just below the jorquette and continues its vertical growth till another jorquette develops
and so on. When the first jorquette develops at a height of 1.5m, the canopy will form at a height
convenient for harvesting and other operations. It is desirable to limit the tree at that level by periodical
removal of chupon growth. The second jorquette may be allowed to form if so desired. Operations like
harvesting, spraying etc. will be easier if the height of the trees is kept at the second story level. Generally
three to five branches develop at each jorquette. When more fan branches develop one or two weaker
ones have to be removed. Similarly overlapping branches are also have to be removed for facilitating
uniform light; penetration of every part of canopy.

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Gestation period:

Where the climate and soil allow a continuous growth cocoa trees will form a jorquette within 6-9 months
of planting, the canopies will meet at a spacing of 3 x 3m within 18 months and the 1st crop may be
obtained towards the end of 2nd year or in 3rd year.

Harvesting:

The development of the pod takes 5-6 months from fertilizing the flower to full ripening. Harvesting
involves removing the ripe pods from the trees and opening them to extract the wet beans. As they ripen,
the pods change colours, green pods becoming orange, yellow and red pods turning orange. Each pod
will have 25-45 beans embedded in white pulp ( Mucilage). Generally cocoa gives two main crops in a
year during September January and April-June, though off-season crops may be seen almost all
through the year especially under irrigated condition.

Only ripe pods have to be harvested without damaging the flower cushions by cutting the stalk with the
help of knife. The harvesting is to be done at regular intervals of 10-15 days. The damaged , unripe and
infested pods have to be separated out to ensure better quality of beans after processing. The harvested
pods should be kept for minimum period of two days before opening for fermentation. However, pod
should not be kept beyond four days.

Curing is the process by which cocoa beans are prepared for the market which requires beans of good
flavour, potential and good keeping qualities. The curing process involves fermentation followed by
drying. Fermentation involves keeping the mass of cocoa beans well insulated so that heat is retained,
while at the same time air is allowed to pass through the mass. The process lasts up to 7 days and
followed immediately by drying. Cocoa bean mass under the process of fermentation has to be
overturned regularly to maintain the uniform specified temperature all over the mass.

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Rejuvenation of senile gardens:

Top working is a method to convert old poor yielding cocoa plants to high yielders. This technique helps
in the rejuvenation of old and unproductive cocoa plantations. A poor yielding cocoa tree of any age can
be converted to a high yielder by the simple procedure of top working. The method is similar to the
budding on seedlings. The tree to be top worked is snapped back just below the jorquette (1-1.5 m above
the ground) after cutting half way through the width. Patch budding is done on three or four newly formed
most vigorous chupon shoots and the rest of the chupons are removed. Budding should be done only
when the shoots attain pencil thickness and their leaves are hardened. The bud wood is taken only from
fan shoots of high yielding trees. Patch budding can be easily done on these shoots by removing a patch
of bark of 2.5 m length and 0.5 cm width and inserting a patch of bud of similar size. This scion is fixed in
position and protected by tying with a polythene tape. Three weeks after budding the tape is cut off and
the stock portion of the seedling above the bud union is snapped back. The snapped portion is removed
only after at least two hardened leaves develop from the bud. When sufficient shoots are hardened the
canopy of the mother tree can be totally removed. Top working can be done during all seasons. Still, it
may be more convenient if this operation is done in a rain-free period in irrigated gardens. For rain fed
situations, this may preferably be done after the receipt of pre- monsoon showers. Top worked trees grow
much faster than budded plants of the same age especially because of the presence of an established
root system. They start yielding heavily from the second year onwards while a budded cocoa plant of the
same age may take five years for the same.
Bud grafting

The approach is almost the same as for the terminal cleft grafting. But there are
differences. Having dressed scion and rootstock, take off a portion of the bark of the
scion called the shield. It must have an eye. (1 twig with well-developed eyes can be
used for 10 plants or more). Then cut part of the bark of the rootstock to the
dimensions of the shield. Then place the shield on the plant at the location where the
sample was done and tie. If the dimensions were met, there will be no vacuum. Here,
the mantle is not mandatory. Once the bud is about to give a new branch, cut the top
of the rootstock at a height of 5 cm to prevent the plant from retaining the former
variety.






































Caring for the plant after grafting
Plants grafted before their final recovery are very delicate and require a number of
treatments:
Monitor ligatures to avoid strangulation of the transplant.
The scions need to be protected against insects and pests. For this reason, we must
do a regular health treatment with a mixture of insecticide and fungicide in order to
maintain healthy foliage providing good plant photosynthesis.
Select the branches to keep. When two buds start on the scion, the most vigorous
and vertical should be allowed to shoot.
We must also ensure that all waste branches developing at the base or trunk of the
rootstock competing so formidable with the scion are completely cut off.
All the grafted plants that tend to form inclined branches should be quickly staked

"With grafting, a cocoa tree may start bearing after 12 months'

Bidima Akono, Olanguina District about 75 km
from Yaounde

I trained in the grafting of cocoa for two main
reasons: improve my techniques in the production
of perennial crops and produce my own improved
cocoa plants. I learned two methods; the terminal
cleft grafting, and bud grafting. Both grafting
techniques allow farmers to produce their plants
themselves, have improved high yielding varieties because it is easier to have a branch
or a scion from a valued variety being sought for than the pods. With grafting, a cocoa
tree may start bearing after 12 to 18 months.

Yet through germination of the seeds it produces after 2 to 3 years. Financially, there
is more profit in the sale of plants because they are more expensive than those
obtained by germination. The main advice I can give those who want to engage in this
technology is to choose the scions well, never do the grafting in the rain and to be
attentive to the evolution of grafting. Water the nursery regularly, especially during
the dry season. Use clean equipment to avoid spreading diseases to plants. Always
sterilize before each operation. We may use alcohol or rub against the sharpening
stone, greased 40, or waste oil (sold in gas stations) or groundnut oil, etc

Conditions to succeed in grafting
The success of your grafted plants depends largely on your ability and complying with
the conditions that ensure a good success rate.

1-Affinity
There is no possible affinity in the absence of a very good relationship between the
scion and the rootstock. In this case, the soldering does not occur. Experience has
shown that if the subject and the scion belong to the same genus, grafting is still
possible. If they belong to gender of the same botanical family, it is more difficult but
still possible. If they belong to different families, it is impossible.

2-Assembly
Soldering between scion and subject is possible only through intimate contact with
their circulation area of the sap from beneath the bark. During the grafting, the sap
flow is interrupted and it is in this area that will form scar tissue causing the solder
and restoring the flow of sap. It is therefore essential to ensure that the generative
areas of the scion and the subject be in contact as much as possible. There should be
no vacuum into which air or water can penetrate. It is therefore important to respect
the template and dimensions, and keep well tied. If there are any bad combinations,
there is no budding and grafting is unsuccessful. It is at this point that the skill of the
farmer is essential. Ligatures are employed to strengthen the assembly.

3- Mutual strength
Whenever possible, choose a subject and a scion whose state of vegetation, the
strength and robustness are identical. If the balance between the strength is good, the
subject and the scion have the same diameter above and below the grafted plant. If the
balance is bad, the scion may have a diameter greater than that of the subject or
conversely, that of the subject greater than that of the scion.

4-Grafting season
Grafting plants must be done during periods when the sap is abundantly active.
During the rainy season the sap flows better. We need to transplant in time. But do not
graft when the trunk is wet. If you are grafting during the dry season, water the
rootstock for sometime before grafting. Do not graft during hot periods, the sun dries
the wound. Do not graft either when it is windy.