%0 Journal Article
%T Floral Phenology of Upper Amazon Cocoa Trees: Implications for Reproduction and Productivity of Cocoa
%A M. K. Adjaloo
%A W. Oduro
%A B. K. Banful
%J ISRN Agronomy
%D 2012
%R 10.5402/2012/461674
%X A study of the floral phenology of cocoa trees was carried out between 2006 and 2008 at Kubease in the Ashanti Region of Ghana, using one hundred cocoa trees from ten farm plots. The objective was to assess the contribution of floral phenology to the productivity of cocoa. Cocoa like all tropical tree species exhibited seasonally-related phenological patterns involving overlapping cycles under both intrinsic and extrinsic controls. However, unlike most tropical plants, flowering was in the rainy season. The production of new pods or cherelles increased during the major rainy season (June, July, and August), but was evenly distributed from the minor to the dry season. Production of small and medium pods peaked in August whereas production of large pods peaked in October. There was a positive correlation between new pod production and pods abortion (r = 0.69; n = 100; P < 0.05). Temperature, light intensity, and rainfall positively affected production of floral buds and production of open flowers. However, rainfall had the greatest influence on the phenological cycle of the cocoa plant. The floral phenological pattern also coincided with the activity of the main pollinators of cocoa which resulted in enhanced reproductive capacity for increased production of cocoa. 1. Introduction Cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) ranks number three in global export commodities after coffee and sugar and is a major cash crop in many tropical countries [1]. Produced on more than 7.5 million hectares, cocoa provides a means of livelihood for an estimated 40 million people worldwide, ranging from small holder farmers, laborers to employees in processing factories. In the lowland tropics, including parts of Latin America, West Africa, and Indonesia, cocoa is a crop grown largely by smallholder farmers (smallholdings of less than ten hectares) [2]. Compared to other agricultural activities, cocoa has been a leading subsector in the economic growth and development of several West African countries including Ghana [3]. World cocoa production increased at a rate of 2.2 percent a year, from 1998 to 2010 culminating in a production level of 3.7 million tons over the period [4]. Studies in other parts of the world suggest that the yield of cocoa is related to the floral phenology of the trees ([5, 6]). Clarke [7] reported that a good understanding of the floral phenology of tree crops provides significant insights into the functional attributes of growth and reproduction of the trees. Therefore, the synchronization between the phenology of flowering of cocoa trees and the pollinator
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/isrn.agronomy/2012/461674/