CCRP – 1 ,CCRP – 2 ,CCRP – 3, CCRP – 4, CCRP– 5, CCRP – 6, CCRP – 7,
CCRP – 8, CCRP – 9, CCRP – 10, CCRP – 11, CCRP – 12, CCRP – 13 ,CCRP – 14, CCRP – 15
June – July and September – October.
Collection of seeds from biclonal or polyclonal seed gardens involving superior self-incompatible parents is recommended to ensure genetic superiority of planting materials.
In coconut nursery, a poly clonal seed garden with 7 improved clones of KAU (CCRP1 to CCRP7) and Vittal cocoa clone 1 and 4 hybrids namely VTLCH1 to VTLCH4.
Criteria for selection of mother plants for collection of seeds:
Vegetative propagation
Vegetative propagation | Rootstock | Scions | Success (%) |
Budding: Patch budding | 10-12 month old seedlings | Bud patch of 2.5 cm length and 0.5 cm width from the bud wood | 85 |
Grafting: Soft wood grafting | 3-4 month old seedlings | Scion stick of 12- 15 cm length with 2- 3 buds | 70 |
The bags are filled with pot mixture containing.
Cocoa under Arecanut Cocoa under Oil palm Cocoa under coconut
Main crop | Spacing (m) | Cocoa as inter crop |
Coconut | 7.5 x 7.5 | One Cocoa row of plants at 3m interval at the center of two Coconut rows and One Cocoa at the center of two Coconut plants along the Coconut row. This layout will hold about 500 plants per hectare |
Arecanut | 2.7 x 2.7 | One Cocoa row of plants at 2.7m interval at the center of two Arecanut rows. Likewise alternate gaps of Arecanut rows should be filled in. This layout will hold about 686 plants/ha. |
Oil palm | 4.5 x 4.5 | Five cocoa plants would come between four oil plants resulting in 400 plants per hectare. |
Age of the plant | Water requirement (litre/ plant / day) |
1st year | 3-5 |
2nd year | 10 |
3rd year and later | 20-25 |
Soil nutrient management
Fertilizer schedule for cocoa
An annual application of the following schedule should be applied in two equal splits, the first dose in April- May and the second dose in September- October i.e. pre and post monsoon applications.
Fertilizer (g/ plant) | I year | II year | III year onwards |
Urea | 72 | 144 | 220 |
Rock phosphate | 65 | 130 | 200 |
Muriate of Potash | 77 | 154 | 230 |
Method of application
Drip (Fertigation)
Phases of crop | Months | Weeks | No. of weeks | *Water soluble fertilizers (NPK (%)) |
1st season flower initiation | January & February | 1-8 | 8 | 12.5 |
Fruit set | March | 9-13 | 5 | 10.0 |
Fruit development | April and May | 14-22 | 9 | 12.5 |
Fruit maturity, harvest and 2nd season flower initiation | June and July | 23-30 | 8 | 20.0 |
Fruit set | August | 31-35 | 5 | 12.5 |
Fruit development | September & October | 36-43 | 8 | 15.0 |
Fruit maturity and harvest | November & December | 44-52 | 9 | 17.5 |
Total | 100 |
*Water soluble fertilizers :
1. Mealy bugs (Planococcus lilacinus, Planococcus citri)
Symptoms-
Management-
2. Tea mosquitoe bugs (Helopeltis antonii)
Symptoms-
Management
3.Flatid Plant hoppers
Symptoms-
Management:
4. Aphids (Toxoptera aurantii and Aphis gossypii)
Symptoms-
Management-
5.Hairy caterpillars (Lymantriya sp., Euproctis sp., Dasychira sp.,)
Symptoms-
Management-
6. Stem Girdler, Sthenias grisator
Management
Non- Insect pests
Management
1.Nitrogen
Deficiency Symptoms :
2.Phosphorous
Deficiency Symptoms :
3.Potassium
Deficiency Symptoms :
4.Calcium
Deficiency Symptoms :
5.Magnesium
Deficiency Symptoms :
1. Seedling blight (Phytophthora palmivora)
Management:
2. Black Pod rot (Phytophthora palmivora)
Management:
3. Stem Canker (Phytophthora palmivora)
Management:
4. Vascular Streak Dieback (VSD)
Management-
5.Cherelle wilt
50-70 pods/tree/year