Who does not know chocolate.? from children to adults many who love it, Brown is one type of food and drinks are very popular all over the world. Chocolate can be enjoyed in the market comes from the cacao tree that produces cocoa pods. The cacao bean was the one which will be processed into chocolate with a delicious flavor with the effects of relaxing endorphins. Cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) is one of the commodities that are quite important for the economy of Indonesia. Cocoa is a crop plant plantation promising prospect. Calcification of cocoa plants, namely the Kingdom: Plantae, Division: Magnoliophyta, Class: Magnoliopsida Order: malvales, Family: Malvaceae, Genus: Theobroma, Species: Theobroma cacao L. Terms growing cocoa plants are rainfall is 1100-3000 mm per year. The temperature is 30 0C - 32 0C (maximum) and 18 0C - 21 0C (minimum). Cocoa grows well in soil with a pH of 6 to 7.5. While the environment for cocoa plants in the tropical forests growing need shade to avoid full lighting. just ok here's how cocoa cultivation needs to be done:
1). Land preparation
Land preparation is to clear the land and the use of cover crops like leguminous plant species, as well as the use of cover crops such as Leucaena, Albazia, and Gleresidae, which plants
This planted a year before planting cocoa. Furthermore, it also carried out soil tillage is usually done by mechanical means.
2). Seeding
Cocoa beans are used to seed the middle ripe fruit and healthy plants that are old enough, then cleaned the flesh using the ashes and soon germinated.
3). Planting
the planting of cocoa first made marker that could be of bamboo with a high height 80-100 cm. Planting of cocoa made with a spacing of 3 x 3 m, 4 x 2 m and 3.5 x 2.5 m with a hole the size of 60 x 60 x 60 cm. Spacing is used based on planting material and large tree. While the spacing of tree protectors are 1.5 x 1.5 m depending on the area being used. In planting cacao plant four cropping patterns are commonly used: (1) The pattern of planting cocoa rectangular, and shade trees rectangle (2) cropping cocoa rectangular and shade trees in terms of three (3) cropping cocoa fenced double and shade trees triangle (3) double cropping cocoa and shade trees fenced rectangle.
4). Maintenance
Cocoa plant maintenance is done by pruning, weeding, watering, fertilizing, and the control of pests and diseases.
Prune the plant protector and the cocoa plant. Pruning shade trees is done in order to function in the long term. While Trimming the cocoa plant is an effort to increase production and maintain economic life of the plant. By doing pruning, will prevent pests and diseases, forming a canopy of trees, maintain plants, and spur production.
Weeding is done to clean up and dispose of weeds that interfere with cocoa plants. While watering is done to help the growth of cocoa and cocoa maintain soil moisture.
Fertilization is done by ditugal. Fertilization is by fertilization using urea, TSP, KCl and Kieserite (MgSO4), the dose of fertilizer is based on the age of the cocoa plant.
AGE (months) Dose of fertilizer (per ha)
| UMUR(bulan) | Dosis pupuk (per ha) | |||
| Urea (kg) | TSP (kg) | MOP/ KCl (kg) | Kieserite (MgSO4)(kg) | |
| 2 | 15 | 15 | 8 | 8 |
| 6 | 15 | 15 | 8 | 8 |
| 10 | 25 | 25 | 12 | 12 |
| 14 | 30 | 30 | 15 | 15 |
| 18 | 30 | 30 | 45 | 15 |
| 22 | 30 | 30 | 45 | 15 |
| 32 | 160 | 200 | 250 | 60 |
| 36 | 140 | 250 | 250 | 80 |
| 42 | 140 | 200 | 250 | 80 |
| etc | ||||
Pest and disease control in crops of cocoa made with land sanitation, trimmed plants attacked and burned and also the use of pesticides. Pests and diseases that often attack the cocoa plant is a caterpillar span (Hyposidea infixaria), caterpillars horse or horses (Dasychira inclusa), Parasa lepida and ploneta diducta (caterpillar Srengenge), fleas - fleas (Pseudococcus lilacinus), Helopeltis antonii, Cacao Mot (Moths fruit), Acrocercops cranerella, fruit rot disease (Phytopthora palmivora), Mushroom Upas (Upasia salmonicolor).
5). Harvest and Post-harvest
Harvesting is done by picking the ripe fruit by cutting the fruit stalk and leaves a third of the fruit stalk. Cocoa pods are picked aged 5.5 to 6 months after flowering, yellow or red. Cocoa pods are picked and then put into sacks and then been split pieces to collect seeds. And the result can be processed by fermentation, drying, and sorting.
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That is about the Easy Ways Cocoa Cultivation of Good and True, chocolate turns out that we often eat a lot of experience the process from planting until ready we eat or we drink.