Soil properties, growth and yield of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) trees from moribund field as affected by pruning and fertilizer application
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25081/jpc.2025.v53.i1.9849Abstract
An experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of fertilizer application and pruning on soil properties and performance of cocoa trees from a moribund field. The fertilizers (NPK compound inorganic fertilizer and poultry manure) and pruning intensities (none, moderate and heavy branch removal) had significant effects on soil properties and flower production, pod and bean yields of cocoa trees. The fertilizers enhanced soil fertility (increased soil pH, organic carbon, N, P, K, Ca and CEC). Heavy pruned cocoa trees produced significantly higher number of pods per tree (49.7) compared with moderate pruning (42.4) and unpruned (45.3). Cocoa pods were heavier for heavy pruned trees (1.4) compared with the unpruned (1.2) and moderate (1.01) pruning intensities. Total bean weight was high for heavy pruning (0.34 kg) followed by the unpruned trees (0.32 kg) and lowest for moderate (0.28 kg) pruning treatment. Pod weights were 2.83 and 2.74 kg for trees treated with poultry manure and NPK amended soils compared with unamended (2.38 kg). The number of beans per pod was respectively, 226.4, 211.7 and 206.4 while weight of beans per tree was 0.76, 0.70 and 0.64 kg for poultry manure, NPK and no amendment. Poultry manure treatment of heavy pruned cocoa enhanced weights of pods and beans compared with NPK while lowest values were recorded for unamended trees. Pruning enhanced cocoa tree vigour by reducing shade density and competition for assimilate from organs (root, branches, leaves) and promote light regime and health of trees. The fertilizers improved soil physical, chemical and biological properties for cocoa tree productivity. There were positive and significant impacts of rehabilitation practice involving pruning and fertilizer amendment for rejuvenation and enhanced performance (flowering, pod and bean production) of old, moribund cocoa trees.
Downloads
References
Adebiyi, S. and Okunla, J. 2013. Factors affecting adoption of cocoa farm rehabilitation techniques in Oyo State of Nigeria. World Journal of Agricultural Research, 9(3): 258-265.
Adeogun, S.O., Olawoye, J.E. and Akinbile, L.A. 2010. Information sources to cocoa farmers on cocoa rehabilitation techniques (CRTs) in selected states of Nigeria. Journal Media and Communication Studies,2: 9 - 15.
Adjaloo,M.K. W. Oduro, W. B. K. Banful B.K. 2012. Floral phenology of Upper Amazon cocoa trees: Implications for reproduction and productivity of cocoa. ISRN Agronomy: 1-8. https://doi.org/10.5402/2012/461674.
Agele, S., Adejobi, K..and Ogunleye, A. 2024. Small holder irrigation for climate mitigation and cacao performance improvement in the rainforest tropics. Agricultural Sciences:Irrigation Systems and Applications (Sultan et al. eds.) http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.112674.
Ali, E. B., Awuni, J. A., and Danso-Abbeam, G. 2018. Determinants of fertilizer adoption among smallholder cocoa farmers in the Western Region of Ghana. Cogent Food and Agriculture ,4(1): https://doi.org/10.1080/23311932.2018.1538589.
Abdulai, I., Hoffmann, M.P., Jassogne, L., Asare, R., Graefe, S., Tao, H.H., Muilerman, S., Vaast, P., Van Asten, P., Laderach, P. and Rotter, R.P. 2020. Variations in yield gaps of smallholder cocoa systems and the main determining factors along a climate gradient in Ghana. Agricultural Systems,181: 102812. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2020.102812.
Adomaa, F.O., Vellema, S., Slingerland, M. and Asare, R. 2022. The adoption problem is a matter of fit: tracing the travel of pruning. practices from research to farm in Ghana’s cocoa sector. Agriculture and Human Values,39:921–935.https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-021-10292-0.
Alvim, P.T. and Milde, L.C.E., 1984. Physiological reaction of cacao to water deficiency in the soil. In: Proceedings of the 7th International Cocoa Research Conference. pp 121–127.
Asare, R., V. Afari-Sefa, V., Muilerman, S. and Anim-Kwapong, G.J. 2018. Good agronomic practices in cocoa cultivation: Rehabilitating cocoa farms. In Achieving sustainable cultivation of cocoa. (Umaharan P ed.). pp.111–128. Cambridge: Burleigh Dodds.
Becker, J., Pabst, H., Mnyonga, J. and Kuzyakov, Y. 2015. Annual litter fall dynamics and 513 nutrient deposition depending on elevation and land use at Mt. Kilimanjaro. Biogeosciences ,51412: 5635–5646. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-5635-2015.
Bertoldi, D., Barbero, A., Camin, F., Caligiani, A. and Larcher, R. 2016. Multielemental fingerprinting and geographic traceability of Theobroma cacao beans and cocoa products, Food Control,65: 46-53,https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2016.01.013.
Bridgemohan, P., Singh, K., Cazoe, E., Perry, G., Mohamed, A. and Bridgemohan, R.S.H. 2017. Cocoa floral phenology and pollination: Implications for productivity in Caribbean Islands. Journal of Plant Breeding and Crop Science,9(7): 106-117.
Capelli, M., Lauri, P.E., Lechaudel, M. and Normand, F. 2021. Hormones and carbohydrates are both involved in the negative effects of reproduction on vegetative bud outgrowth in the mango tree: consequences for irregular bearing. Tree Physiology,41: 2293–2307. doi.org/10.1093/treephys/tpab079.
Claus, G., Vanhove, W., Damme, P.V. and Smagghe, G.2018. Challenges in cocoa pollination: the case of Cote ˆ d’Ivoire. (Mokwala, PW ed.). Pollination in Plants. InTech, pp. 39–58. https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.75361.
Coates, K.D., Lilles, E.B. and Astrup, R. 2013. Competitive interactions across a soil fertility gradient in a multispecies forest. Journal of Ecology,101: 806–818. doi.org/10.1111/1365- 2745.12072.
Dawoe, E.K., Isaac, M.E. and Quashie-Sam, J., 2010. Litterfall and litter nutrient dynamics under cocoa ecosystems in lowland humid Ghana. Plant Soil ,330: 55–64.
Djuideu, C.T.L., Bisseleua, H.D.B., Kekeunou, S. and Ambele, F.C. 2021. Rehabilitation practices in cocoa agroforestry systems mitigate outbreaks of termites and support cocoa tree development and yield. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment,311: 107324. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2021.107324.
Dossa, E., Arthur, A., Dogbe, W., Mando, A., Afrifa, A.A. and Acquaye, S. 2018. An assessment of inherent chemical properties of soils for balanced fertilizer recommendations for Cocoa in Ghana, in: Improving the Profitability, Sustainability and Efficiency of Nutrients Through Site Specific. Fertilizer Recommendations in West Africa Agro-Ecosystems. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-58789-9_18.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) 2017. Cocoa value chain:
Production, processing, marketing and trade. FAO. Rome.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO Stat) 2020. FAO. Rome.
Fontes, A.G. 2014. Nutrient stocks in litterfall and litter in cocoa agroforests in Brazil. Plant Soil,383: 313–335.
Govindaraj, K. and Jansirani, P. 2017. Effect of pruning on Cocoa on morphological, flowering and yield and quality of Cocoa beans. International Journal of Agricultural Science Research, -----113-118, 10.24247/ijasrdec201714.
International Cocoa Organization 2020. Assessment of the movements of global supply and demand, reviewing in detail the developments in the world cocoa market during the past ten years. https://www.icco.org/app/statistics/
International Cocoa Initiative (ICI) 2019. Annual reports. www.cocoainitiative.org/
International Plant Nutrition Initiative (IPNI). Annual Reports. https:///www.ipni.net/
Jagoret,P., Michel, I., Ngnogue, H.T., Lachnenaud, P., Snoeck, D. and Malezieux, E. 2018. Structural characteristics determine productivity in complex cocoa agroforestry systems.Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 17(6): https://doi.org/10.1007/s13593-017-0468-0.
Kotowska, M.M., Leuschner, C., Triadiati, T. and Hertel, D. 2015. Conversion of tropical lowland forest reduces nutrient return through litterfall, and alters nutrient use efficiency and seasonality of net primary production Oecologia,180: 601–618. DOI 10.1007/s00442-015-3481-5.
Maguire-Rajpaul, V.A., Khatun, K., and Hirons, M.A. 2020. Agricultural Information’s Impact on the Adaptive Capacity of Ghana’s Smallholder Cocoa Farmers. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems,4. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2020.00028.
Opeke, L.K. 2006. Tropical commodity crops. Spectrum Books Ltd., Ibadan, Nigeria. 213 pp.
Niether, W., Armengot, L., Andres, C., Schneider, M. and Gerold, G. 2018. Shade trees and tree pruning alter through fall and microclimate in cocoa production systems. Annals of Forest Science,75(2): 38.
O’Sullivan R., Roth, M., Antwi, Y.A., Ramirez, P. and Sommerville, M. 2018. Land and tree tenure innovations for financing smallholder cocoa rehabilitation in Ghana. World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty, March 19-23, 2018. The World Bank. Washington D. C., USA. pp:1-27. https://www.land-links.org/wp-content/uploads/.
Pérez-Flores, J., Perez, A.A. and Suarez, Y.P. 2018. Leaf litter and its nutrient contribution in the cacao agroforestry system Agroforestry Systems,92(1): 1-10. DOI: 10.1007/s10457-017-0096-3.
Persello, S., Grechi, I., Boudon, F. and Normand, F. 2019. Nature abhors a vacuum: Deciphering the vegetative reaction of the mango tree to pruning. European Journal of Agronomy ,104: 85-96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eja.2019.01.007.
Porpiglia P.J. and Barden J.A. 1981. Effects of pruning on penetration of photosynthetically active radiation and leaf physiology in apple trees. Annals ofAmerican Society of Horticultueral Science,106: 752–754.
Restrepo, J.P.G., Leiva-Rojas, E.I. and Ramírez Pisco, R. 2017. Phenology of cocoa tree in a tropical moist forest. Científica,45: 240-252, 10.15361/1984-5529.2017v45n3p240-252.
Riedel, J., Kägi, N., Armengot, L. and Schneider, M. 2019. Effects of rehabilitation pruning and agroforestry on cacao tree development and yield in an older full-sun plantation. Experimental Agriculture 1–17. doi:10.1017/S0014479718000431.
Saj S., 2022 Rehabilitation practices that shape cocoa agro-forestry systems in Central Cameroon: key management strategies for long-term exploitation. Agro-forestry Systems,92:1185–1199.
Schaffer, B. and Gaye G.O. 1989. Effect of pruning on light interception, specific leaf density, leaf chlorophyll content of mango, Scientia Horticulturae,41: 55–61.
Schroth, G., Jensset, A., Gomes, A.S., Florence, C.T., Coelho, N.A.P., Faria, D. and Laederach, P. 2016. Climate friendliness of cocoa agroforests is compatible with productivity increase. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change,21(1): 67–80. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11027-014-9570-7.
Sharma, R.R. and Singh, R. 2006. Effect of pruning intensity on light penetration and leaf physiology in amrapali mango trees under high-density planting Tropical Science ,46: 16-19, 10.1002/ts.16.
Somarriba E.J, Peguero F, Cerda R.H, Orozco-Aguilar L, (2021). Rehabilitation and renovation of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) agroforestry systems. A review: Agronomy for Sustainable Development,9: 41:64 https://doi.org/10.1007/s13593-021-00717-9
Tang, L., Hou, C., Huang, H., Chen, C., Zou, J. and Lin, D.2015. Light interception efficiency analysis based on three-dimensional peach canopy models, Ecological Informatics,30: 60-67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoinf.2015.09.012.
Thomas, E., Van Zonneveld, M., Loo, J., Hodgkin, T., Galluzzi, G. and Van Etten, J. 2012. Present spatial diversity patterns of Theobroma cacao L. in the neotropics reflect genetic differentiation in Pleistocene refugia followed by human-influenced dispersal. PLoS One ,7(10): e47676. doi: 10.1371/.
Tosto, A., Zuidema, P.A., Goudsmit, E., Evers, J.B. and Anten, N.P.R. 2022. The effect of pruning on yield of cocoa trees is mediated by tree size and tree competition, Scientia Horticulturae 111275. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2022.111275.
Valle, R.R., De Almeida, A.F. and Leite, R.M.D.O. 1990. Energy costs of flowering, fruiting, and cherelle wilt in Cacao. Tree Physiology,6: 329-336.
Wibaux, T., Normand, F., Vezy, R., Durand, J.B. and Lauri, P.E. 2024. Does seasonal flowering and fruiting patterns of cacao only depend on climatic factors? The case study of mixed genotype populations in Côte d'Ivoire, Scientia Horticulturae,337: 113529. doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2024.113529.
World Cocoa Foundation (WCF). 2018. Sustainable Cocoa Production Program: Promoting Pollination and Biodiversity.
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Copyright (c) 2026 Journal of Plantation Crops
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
.