- General
Cocoa grows in hot, humid tropical climates, and requires 1200 mm of uniformly distributed rain annually. It grows well in low lying areas below 1000 metres with an average daily temperature of 30°c and a minimum evening temperature of 10°C. Young cocoa trees suffer severely from heat stroke, therefore it is essential to cultivate them in the shade. There are varied solutions to this problem, the most widely acceptable being: cultivating cocoa between rows of coconut palms trees, amongst coconut oil trees or planting them in a forest whilst occasionally felling some forest trees. Once fully grown, the shading may be removed, however a soil covering should always be maintained.
- Data
- Soil
Medium to heavy soil with neutral pH, 6.5 - 7
- Water
The quantity of water required is 40mm weekly in highly humid conditions, and 50mm in areas of low humidity. Additional watering is required only in areas where the rainfall is not sufficient. Here, below is an example from the Ivory Coast:
|
Mon-
ths |
Total |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
| Rain |
1201
mm |
13 |
82 |
208 |
130 |
320 |
219 |
58 |
7 |
10 |
31 |
123 |
0 |
|
Addi-
tional
wate-
ring |
535 |
60 |
60 |
45 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
88 |
80 |
60 |
0 |
150 |
| Total |
1736 |
73 |
142 |
253 |
130 |
320 |
219 |
58 |
95 |
90 |
91 |
123 |
150 |
- Fertilization
1. Young orchard - Quantities in grams according
to age.
Age
(months) |
N |
P2O5 |
K2O |
| 1 |
6.4 |
6.4 |
6.4 |
| 4 |
8.5 |
8.5 |
8.5 |
| 8 |
8.5 |
8.5 |
8.5 |
| 12 |
12.8 |
12.8 |
12.8 |
| 18 |
17.0 |
17.0 |
17.0 |
| 24 |
27.3 |
27.3 |
27.3 |
2. Fertilization recommendations for a mature
orchard:
| N |
50-100 Kg per hectare |
| P2O5 |
25 Kg per hectare |
| K2O |
85 Kg per hectare |
| Mg
| 15 Kg per hectare |
- Spacing
The distance between trees - 2m.
Distance between rows - 3m
Planting of shade trees - Palm oil - 9*9
Coconut - 10*10
Another system uses pairs where the distance between a pair is 1.5m and distance between the centres of the pairs 4.5 m. It is also feasible to have 1m between plants in a row. and to thin out later.
- Density
1500 - 3000 trees per hectare
100 Coconut trees for shading.
- Nursery
The best plants are those cultivated in a nursery. since the conditions in a nursery allow for developing high quality. healthy plants which are disease resistant.
- Growing Seasons
Begins to bear fruit at the age of 3-5 years. The golden or yellow coloured fruit is picked every 2 - 3 weeks.
- Countries where it is cultivated
Ivory Coast. Brazil. Ghana. Nigeria and the Philippines.
- Coconut Trees
Usually planted 10*10 until the age of 4 and afterwards the trees are uprooted.
- Netafims Recommendations
- Distance between laterals
One lateral for every two rows of plants planted in pairs with a good distance between laterals and rows.
- Distance between drippers
Two laterals with 1m or 2m between drippers. in the former case 8 litres per hour. or in the latter 4 litres per hour.
- Irrigation Intervals
The ideal circumstance calls for high humidity. and therefore daily irrigation is recommended.
- Results attained by drip irrigation
- Ivory Coast
In this trial two irrigation methods were investigated. namely sprinklers and drip irrigation. which were compared with a control plot which was not irrigated:
Under drip irrigation 90% of the trees had well developed foliage after 11 months.
Using sprinklers. 90% of the trees had well developed foliage after 12.5 months.
In the non-irrigated plot, 90% of the trees had well developed foliage after 15 months.
After 16 months had passed the average thickness of the trunk was calculated:
Using sprinklers, the thickness of the trunk was 50% thicker than in the control plot, and under drip irrigation. 82% thicker than in the control plot. The production for the first harvesting season was 50 Kg per hectare in the control plot, 300 Kg using sprinklers, and 900 Kg under drip irrigation.
- Trial in the Ivory Coast
In this trial the production in the first year was 71 Kg per hectare on the control plot, 362 Kg per hectare using sprinklers, and 1103 under drip irrigation.
- Trial in the Philippines
Under drip irrigation, new branches formed every 27 days instead of every 50 days without irrigation, i.e. 6-7 branches per year on the control plot, and 12 - 13 under drip irrigation. Larger leaf expanse influenced an increase in the yield.
At the age of 245 days, the root system was measured, and under drip irrigation its length was found to be 122 cm instead of 65 cm in the control plot. This shows a rate of growth of 4.9 mm per day under drip irrigation, as opposed to 2.6 mm in the control plot. At the age of 245 days all the dry matter of the tree was weighed, and under drip irrigation was found to be 431g per tree versus 253g per tree in the control plot.
The first commercial harvest under drip irrigation was 11 months subsequent to planting as opposed to 24 months without irrigation. In the second year of harvest, there was a 40% increase in the quantity of fruits as opposed to the control plot, and a 25% rise in the weight of a single fruit.
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