Cocoa

Cocoa

1. 1.0 Propagation

   • 1.1 Seed
     • Extracted from pod
     • Biclonal or polyclonal seed gardens involving superior self-incompatible parents is crucial to ensure genetic superiority of planting materials
     • Selection criteria seed form mother plant
       • 1. Husk thickness of pod less than 1cm
       • 2. Pod value should be less than 12
       • 3. Bean dry weight to be more than 1g
       • 4. Number of beans per pod has to be more than 35
     • Recalcitrant: lose viability very fast once the seeds are taken out of pods
       • Best sown immediately after pulp removal
         • The pod can be stored up to 1 week; germ may die after 1 week
   • 1.2 Vegetative
     • 1.2 1 Budding
       • Commonly practiced to supply cocoa planting materials in Malaysia
         • use 10-12 months old seedlings as rootstock
     • 1.2.2 Cutting
       • Taken with between 2-5 leaves or 1-2 buds
     • 1.2.3 grafting
       • Scion of selected clones are grafted on 3-4 months old rootstock

2. 2.0 Nursery

   • Criteria
     • Good stable structure topsoil by using sandy clay loam
     • Near to source of water with good drainage
     • Flat nursery site
   • 2.1 Nursery Bed
     • 120cm width, leave 60cm between beds to facilitate easy maintenance
   • 2.2 Polybag Nursery
     • Polybags size 40 x 25cm
       • Placed in 2-4 rows on 120cm beds with 60 cm access path between beds
   • 2.3 Nursery Shade
     • Should intercept 70-80% sunlight in first 2 months
       • Shade can reduced the seedlings from hardening
         • Can use black plastic net or palm frond as shade

3. 3.0 Field Preparation

   • 3.1 Land Preparation
     • Remove undesirable trees that harbour the cocoa swollen shoot virus
     • Manure mixed into soil to improve soil structure
   • 3.2 Plant density
     • spacing of 3m x 3m for hybrid cocoa seedlings
     • 1111 trees per hectare
   • 3.3 Shade establishment
     • Planted at least 6-9 months before cocoa planting
       • 3.3.1 Temporary Shade
         • Like Gliricidia or Dadap
       • 3.3.2 Permanent Shade
         • Like Coconut or durian
           • 12-15m x 12-15m spacing would be adequate
             • Cocoa can be planted at 3m interval between 2 coconut rows
               • 667 cocoa plants/ hectare
   • 3.4 Planting Holes
     • 50cm x 20cm hole size
       • Separated subsoil with surface soil
         • Mixed 50 g of 16:16:8 fertilizer with dug up soil
           • put 5kg of manure and lime in hole

4. 4.0 Transplanting

   • Plant on set of rainy weather
     • 4-6 months old seedling are selected
       • 6 pairs of leaves which are hardened or no new flush of leaves
         • Disease or abnormal seedlings are discarded e.g. twisted tap root

5. 5.0 Nutrition and Fertilization

   • Fertilizer are spread in a ring arounf the trunk at a distance about 1 meter from tree
     • The radius may increase gradually up to 150 cm after third years
       • • Fertilizer application is given twice a year

6. 6.0 Pruning

   • To give good plant archtecture thus increase plant productivity
   • To maintain plant height in order to facilitate management and harvesting
   • 6.2.1 Young Trees
     • Well developed tree should have single, straight trunk
       • Cut off shoots and leaves only the straight and strongest
       • A crown of 3 to 5 main branches forms about 1.5 metres above ground level
   • 6.2.2 Mature Trees
     • To maintain structure and height, stimulate flowering and facilitate harvesting
       • Cut low hanging branches, followed by cytting chupons and branches within 60 cm from jorquette
       • Top pruning to a height of 4m to facilitate harvesting and maintenance

7. 7.0 Pest and DIseases

   • 7.1 DIseases
     • Ret root disease caused by Ganoderma pseudoferrum
       • Control: Use fungicide Tridermorph or Propicanozole; Infected lateral roots are cut to the healthy portion
     • White root disease caused by Rigidoporus lignosus
     • Cocoa Pod Rot caused by P. palmivora, P. megakarya and P. capsici
       • Control Spraying copper fungicide; cultural techniques like shade reduction, regular harvesting and weed control
   • 7.2 Insect pest
     • Cocoa pod borer( Conopomorpha cramerella)
       • Control: Combination of control measures include cultural, biological and chemical
         • Frequent harvesting at 10-14 day interval; spray cypermethrin and deltamethrin at 0.1% at weekly intervals
     • Mirid Bug( Helopeltis theobromae)
       • Control: Apply pesticide; using predator of mirid bug which is cocoa black ant)

8. 8.0 Harvesting

   • Pod takes 140-160 days to mature, takes another 10 days to ripen and harvest
     • Ripe pods are yellow or red in colour are harvested
       • Cut stem of pod instead of pulling to prevent damaging of flower cushion

9. 9.0 Processing

   • Removing beans from opened pods and scooped out by hand
     • Fermentation to remove the mucilaginous pulp, develop aroma precursors, reduce bitterness
       • 1. Heap fermentation
         • Mixed regularly under banana leaves 4 - 7 days
       • 2. Box fermentation
         • 25- 800kg capacity wooden boxes, processing 5 to 7 days, temp of 50degree celcius during fermentation
       • 3. Basket fermentation
         • For small scale production
       • 4. Tray fermentation
         • For small scale of production
       • 5. Curing on drying platforms

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