Not all type of soils is good for cocoa production. Like every plant, cocoa requires soil with certain qualities for support and optimum production. Site selection for cocoa production is one of the initial decisions in production before you think of setting up your cocoa nursery. It is at that stage that key considerations are given to the type of soils for optimum production.
These points will help you choose a good site with fertile and productive soil for cocoa production.
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1. Fertile and productive soil for cocoa production shows complex physical and biological interactions involving the decomposition of rock minerals and organic matter to form inorganic nutrient ions in soil water.
2. It has a good soil texture. This means the relative proportions of stones and cobbles, gravel, sand, silt and clay in the soil. This property affects and is related to several other soil properties like aeration, water holding capacity, nutrient storage and water movement. Therefore, soil texture is very important for soil fertility.
3. A productive soil for cocoa production also has optimum pH. This gives you an idea of how acidic or alkaline the soil is. The pH scale is from 0 to 14. pH 7 is neutral. A pH below 7 is acidic and above 7 is alkaline. Soil pH affects the solubility or availability of plant mineral nutrients. When the pH range is 6.0-7.5, major nutrients and trace elements are available. When the acidity is increasing, the major nutrients, particularly P becomes less available.
Others like Fe, Mn, Cu and Zn become available creating possible soil toxicity problems. Soil pH also affects the activity of beneficial microorganisms. For instance, bacteria that decompose soil organic matter are hindered in strongly acidic soils.
Simply put, soil pH can make some nutrients not available for the cocoa plant. You can know your soil pH by conducting a chemical soil test.
4. A high amount of soil organic matter means fertile and productive soil for cocoa production. Soil organic matter is the part of the soil from materials of plant and animal origin. Organic matter improves the soil in several ways. It contains all essential plant nutrients.
The stored nutrients are released as it decomposes. Organic matter binds together the soil components into stable aggregates. Also provides energy for soil microorganisms and improves water infiltration and holding capacity and reduces erosion potential.
Read Also: 4 Proven Benefits of Organic Matter (not Organic Material) to Soil
5. A productive soil for cocoa production has a thriving and healthy population of soil organisms. This is responsible for nutrient cycling in the soil. That is the decomposition of organic matter into simpler units and synthesis of new products for the plants to use. Soil organisms also play a critical role in the development of soil structure. Soil organisms are made up of micro-organisms (earthworm, nematodes, mites etc.) and microorganisms (bacteria, protozoa, fungi).
One of the most important functions of microorganisms is the decomposition of organic matter. This is done by a variety of soil bacteria and fungi. After decomposition, you get humus (humic acid). This affects cation exchange capacity (CEC) and water retention. This point is explained simply in the next point.
6. Another characteristic of productive soil is high cation exchange capacity (CEC). This simply means the soil can hold onto nutrients. If not, the nutrients will be leached or washed down beyond the reach of the roots. So the higher the CEC, the higher the fertility. Clay and organic matter in the soil give it the property of high CEC. This means the more clay and organic matter (humus) a soil contains, the higher its CEC.
You can determine the CEC by a chemical soil test.
