Coc/TT: Ag Ext 13: 01

PRODUCTION OF COCOA
PLANTING
Cocoa or Theobroma cacao can be grown either Planting should be done at the beginning of the wet
from seeds (seedling cocoa), cuttings (clonal cocoa) season. This would give the plants enough time to
or from grafted/budded plants. Seedlings have a tap establish themselves before having to cope with the
root system and are recommended for hillsides and limited water supply during the following dry
in areas with very dry conditions. They may also be season.
grown on flat areas. Clones however, have a fibrous
root system and are therefore recommended for flat Dig holes approximately 0.4 m x 0.4 m x 0.24 m (1½
areas. ft. x 1½ ft. x 10 inches) deep. Mix the removed soil
with well-rotted manure (2 parts soil: 1 part manure
RECOMMENDED HYBRIDS or 2 parts soil: 0.1 kg (¼ lb) 12:24:12 NPK
fertilizer). Refill the hole with the mixture when
Use Trinidad Selected Hybrids (TSH) to planting.
produce a good cocoa crop. These are early bearing,
When transplanting from bags, water the plants
high yielding, tolerant to the major diseases of
thoroughly before moving them into the field. Make
cocoa, have a low pod index (more beans from less
sure that the soil around the plant roots is not shaken
pods), large beans and possess Trinitario fine or
loose during the transplanting process. For seedling
flavour profile (figure 1).
plants, the tap root should not be bent or twisted at
the time of planting. If this is allowed to happen the
mature plant would be physically weak.

Figure 1: Trinidad Selected Hybrid (TSH) Figure 2: Cocoa tree properly planted
FERTILIZING FERTILIZER PLACEMENT
For young cocoa plants, fertilizers should be placed
Heavily shaded fields do not respond as well in circular bands around the trees, 5.1 cm - 10.2 cm
to fertilizer as fields with minimum shade. (two to four inches) away from the plant.
Fertilizer use is recommended for close spaced As the plants mature, the fertilizer should be applied
systems e.g., 1.8 m x 1.8 m (6 ft. x 6 ft.) using high in circular bands located further away from the trunk
yielding TSH varieties with minimum overhead at the drip circle (figure 3). In mature fields, it is best
shade. to broadcast fertilizer on the soil surface throughout
the field.
Use fertilizers as recommended based on the
results of a soil test. Use Nitrogen, Phosphorus and
Potassium (NPK) fertilizers if the soil is lacking in
these nutrients.
The amount and type of nutrients required vary with
the age of the plant.

GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS
a) Newly Transplanted Cocoa:-
Newly transplanted young cocoa plants
require phosphorus for good root development. If
the soil test shows that the soil does not have
enough phosphorus, use a NPK fertilizer high in
phosphorus, for example 12:24:12 at the rate of
0.1 kg (¼ lb) per plant.

b) Young Trees (1-3 years):-

If the soil is lacking in nitrogen, young trees Figure 3: Circular band showing
should receive two applications of a fertilizer where to place fertilizer
high in nitrogen for development of shoots. For
example, apply 30:10:10 NPK fertilizer at the
TIMING OF FERTILIZER
rate of 0.2 kg (½ lb) per tree, twice per year for
the first three years. APPLICATION
Ideally, fertilizers should be applied to young
c) Actively Growing Trees (over 3 years):- cocoa plants in three to four applications per year.
If the soil is lacking in nitrogen, apply a fertilizer However, two well-timed applications will make the
with a high percentage of nitrogen such as exercise less costly. One application can be made at
30:10:10 NPK fertilizer at the rate of 0.2 kg the beginning of the rainy season and the other three
(½ lb) to 0.4 kg (1 lb) per tree twice per year. to four months later.

d) Flowering and Fruiting Trees:- WEED CONTROL

Flowering and fruiting trees have a high Young cocoa plants are extremely sensitive to
requirement for Nitrogen and Potassium. If these competition from weeds (figure 4). Control weeds to
are lacking in the soil, a fertilizer such as 16:8:24 reduce competition for nutrients and promote
NPK is recommended at the rate of 0.4 kg to the growth of young cocoa plants. Weeds cause
1.2 kg (1-3 lb) twice per year. the greatest problems in the first three years after
transplanting. During this time, remove weeds from
around the young plants three to four times per year
or as often as possible.
 PRUNING
Pruning involves the removal of unwanted shoots
and branches. This is necessary to allow easy
movement through the field and to improve
production. Keep the branches that contribute to the
production of pods and prune the others.

SHADE MANAGEMENT
A 70% shade is best suited for the early
growth and development of the young cocoa plant.
This should be gradually reduced to twenty-five
percent for trees over five to seven years old.
Vine on
cocoa plant
Two types of shade trees are used in cocoa:
Temporary shade and,
Permanent shade
Temporary shade can be provided by food crops
Figure 4: Cocoa plant with weeds such as bananas. Maintain temporary shade for a
period of about one to three years.
Methods to Control Weeds:- Permanent shade forms a canopy over the mature
Control weeds manually by brushcutting or by cocoa plants. Immortelle, timber trees and fruit trees
using herbicides. can be used. They should be planted at least one year
before the young cocoa trees are planted.
Non-selective herbicides can be used to control
both grasses and broad leaf weeds. Avoid the DISEASE CONTROL
herbicide drifting on to the cocoa plants. Two common diseases of cocoa are Black Pod and
Witches’ Broom. These can be managed by using
Selective herbicides could also be used to kill the measures to reduce moisture in the field.
grasses only. They would not harm the cocoa
plants. HARVESTING, FERMENTATION
In a well-established mature field under the AND DRYING
close-spacing system, the carpet of fallen dead The harvesting period is from November to April.
leaves and the shading of the ground by the Harvesting involves the removal of fully mature and
cocoa trees control the growth of weeds. ripe cocoa pods from the trees and should be done at
least once per month. Extract the cocoa beans and
allow them to sweat for 6-8 days. “Sun dry” the
beans after fermentation.

List of Cocoa Factsheets in this Series:

1. Production of Cocoa - Coc/TT: Ag Ext 13: 01 5. Black Pod Disease of Cocoa - Coc/TT: Ag Ext : 13 :05
2. Pruning of Cocoa 6. Witches’ Broom Disease of Cocoa - Coc/TT: Ag Ext 97: 06
3. Shade Management in Cocoa Production - Coc/TT: Ag Ext 13: 03 7. Harvesting, Fermentation and Drying of Cocoa - Coc/TT: Ag Ext 13: 07
4. Rehabilitation of Old Cocoa Fields - Coc/TT: Ag Ext 13: 04 8. Cocoa Seedling Production - Coc/TT: Ag Ext 98: 08

"All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form, or by any
means reproduced without permission in writing, of the Ministry of Food Production."

Revised by Merle Seedial

Published and printed by
the Extension Training and Information Services Division
Ministry of Food Production
Trinidad and Tobago
First published September 1987
Reprinted March 1989
Revised and reprinted December 2009, March 2013