By Juan Pablo Crespo

Photos: Liliana Elías

“Conservationist”, is the word to summarize a cocoa tree because it harmoniously shares spaces with other trees. In addition, it requires a special care so that it could give us the best of its generosity.

Because the tropical plant (Theobroma cacao L.) grows in a narrow geographic belt near the Equator due to climatic and rainfall requirements, it grows in warm and humid forests around the planet and under canopies or under the tops of taller neighbouring trees.

The land to cultivate it must be rich in nitrogen as well as potassium, besides keeping humid during the dry season. The cocoa tree also needs deep soils to allow its roots to penetrate easily, free of obstacles such as stones and gravel.

Favourable temperatures for this natural protagonist can range from 15 ° to 30 ° C at most. The cocoa tree requires good rainfall (approximately between 1,200 and 2,500 mm per year) and a relative humidity above 80%.

The three resistant ones

There are several species, although the best known are the Criollo, the Forestero and the Trinitarian.

  • The Criollo grain is more fragile and scarce (about 7% of world production), although it is popular in countries like Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia or Madagascar and ideal for making fine chocolates thanks to its delicacy and aromatic richness.
  • The Forestero grain (about 75% of the global production) is more resistant to plagues, but inferior to the first one. It is bitter and slightly acidic, with much tannin and astringency (that is felt on the tongue).
  • The Trinitarian is a hybrid obtained from breeding Criollo and Forestero and therefore, it incorporates aspects of both varieties

The agricultural engineer Rosa Villasmil explains that the cocoa plant should grow in a nursery for some time “maximum five months”. She warns that “after that time, other problems might arise. For instance, it may get some deformities in the roots due to lack of space.”

After the nursery stage “It must be moved to the final place, where it should be provided with a temporary shadow from musaceous plants such as banana, because the cocoa plant is very sensitive to the sun,” said the researcher for the Faculty of Agronomy of the University of Zulia (western Venezuela). Depending on the way it develops, a permanent shade with, for example, fruit or timber-yielding trees should also be provided.

Pruning, a key stage

Our tropical plant has a main pivot root that grows straight down to about two meters and secondary roots to the sides. The stem is straight and “ideally it should have just one. Hence, pruning is key to guarantee a single stem “, explains the expert.

Villasmil emphasizes that pruning of these trees is important for better production and harvesting. The most appropriate time for pruning is during the dry season or the transition period, or when there are no flowers or fruits. In its early years it is important to perform pruning for shaping and then maintenance or production. It is also necessary phytosanitary pruning to control some diseases, as well as rehabilitation pruning.

The cocoa tree branches are dimorphic, that is, they grow vertically upward, or orthotropic, while others grow outwardly oblique or plagiotrophic.

The flowers are formed directly on the stem or branches, are small and are produced in clusters called floral cushions. Their colour varies according to the variety of cocoa and its shape is very similar to a five-pointed star.

The fruits also have different sizes and shapes according to the genetic variety, and are 15 to 30 centimetres long. Inside they have between 20 and 50 seeds, from which the chocolate is produced. The cocoa tree has two production peaks a year and, after its third year of age it starts to produce fruits, which within the botanical classification of cocoa are known as pods.

According to the Tropical Agronomic Centre for Research and Education (CATIE), the biological life cycle of cocoa is over 100 years, but its economic life does not usually exceed 40 years, although this depends on factors such as “quality of soil, climate, the germplasm, handling as well as the socio-economic contexts associated with price fluctuations”

Rosa Villasmil considers that cocoa is a conservationist crop, since it is planted with forest or fruit species as its permanent shade, while crops such as the musaceas are used as its temporary shade and are often associated with other products of direct consumption for the producer, thus creating a cocoa forest. Honour to our noble cocoa tree!