Disease Management | Agronomic Practices | Technological Applications
Planting Material
Selection of planting material
Cocoa is generally propagated from seeds, rooted cuttings, grafted or budded plants.
Seedlings and plants derived from grafts and budding have a tap root system which penetrate deep into the soil thus; firmly anchoring the plants and enabling water and nutrient adsorption from deeper in the soil. These are therefore recommended for hilly areas and also areas with dry conditions and soils with low water retention capacity. These plants also perform well in low lying areas.
Rooted cuttings have fibrous roots which do not penetrate as deep into the soil as tap roots and are recommended for flat or low lying areas.
In Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidad Select Hybrids (TSH) clones are the commercial varieties. These have been characterised as early bearing, high yielding, tolerant to the major diseases of cocoa, have a low pod index, large beans and possess fine or flavour profiles.
Further Resources
