POST PLANTING TECHNOLOGIES:

THEORIES, OBSERVATIONS AND

PRACTICES
By:

CARLITO R. SOLERA, Ph.D. Agroforestry

University of the Philippines at Los Banos 1993

Hands-on Cacao Farmer, North Cotabato

Consultant, CocoaFil, Talandang, Davao City

Email: litongsolera@gmail.com
Mobile: Gb. 09175768058, Smt.09213269008

SOLERA CACAO BASED AGROFORESTRY,

STO. NINIO, KIDAPAWAN CITY, NORTH
COTABATO

PRACTICES IN THE MANAGEMENT OF

CACAO PLANTATION
PEST AND DISEASES CONTROL
WEEDING
FERTILIZATION
REPLANTING DEAD SAPLINGS
FORMATIVE PRUNING
FLOWER AND FRUIT MANAGEMENT
HARVEST AND POST HARVEST

SOME THEORIES USEFUL FOR CACAO

PRODUCTION
OVERPRUNING DECREASES
FRUIT QUANTITY AND SIZE

THE KLEBS CONCEPT

THE LAW OF MINIMUM

POLLINATORS LIMIT OR IMPROVE

CACAO PRODUCTION

THE MINERAL NUTRITION CURVE

OVERPRUNING DECREASES
FRUIT SIZE
ONE CACAO FRUIT NEEDS 80-100 LEAVES IN
ORDER TO GROW NORMALLY
THE SIZE OF THE FRUIT IS THE FUNCION OF
THE STEM, THE BIGGER THE STEM THE
BIGGER THE FRUIT.
THE LATERAL GROWTH OF THE STEM IS A
FUNCTIONOF THE DIAMETER OF THE CROWN

80-100 LEAVES ARE NEEDED TO FORM ONE

FRUIT. HENCE THE MORE LEAVES THE MORE
FRUITS, AND OVERPRUNING REDUCES THE
NUMBER AND SIZE OF FRUITS

THE SIZE OF THE FRUIT IS THE

FUNCION OF THE STEM. THE
BIGGER THE STEM THE BIGGER THE
FRUIT

THIS PICTURE IS OBVIOUS THAT THE

CROWN DIAMETER IS SO LARGE,
HENCE THE STEM IS LARGE AND THE
FRUITS ARE LARGE TOO

THE KLEB'S CONCEPT

PHYSIOLOGY IS THE MEETING
POINT BETWEEN HEREDITY AND
ENVIRONMENT
THE EFFICIENCY OF A PHYSIOLOGICAL
PROCESS DEPENDS ON THE ENTERPLAY
BETWEEN THE QUALITY OF THE HEREDITARY
TRAITS AND ENVIRONMENT

APPLICATION OF KLEB'S CONCEPT TO

CACAO PRODUCTION
BENERAL FORMULA

GF + FE = IMPROVED QUALITY
OF AN ORGANISM
GF Stands for GENETIC FACTOR
FE Stands for FAVORABLE ENVIRONMENT

FORMULAS RELATED TO KLEBS

CONCEPT APPLICABLE TO
CACAO PRODUCTION
HY CACAO + FE
= HIGH YIELD
HY CACAO + UFE = LOW YIELD
LY CACAO + FE

= LOW YIELD

LY CACAO + UFE

= VERY LOW YIELD

HY
LY
FE
UFE

HIGH YIELD
LOW YIELD
FAVORABLE ENVIRONMENT
UNFAVORABLE ENVIRONMENT

Law of Minimum
It was found that increasing the amount of
plentiful nutrients did not increase plant growth.
Only by increasing the amount of the limiting
nutrient (the one most scarce in relation to
"need") was the growth of a plant or crop
improved

Leibigs Law of Minimum

MINIMUM

The availability of the most abundant

nutrient in the soil is only as good as the
availability of the least abundant

nutrient in the soil.

P0LLINATORS ARE RESPONSIBLE

FOR THE FORMATION OF FRUITS

 THE CACAO TREE WITH PLENTY

OF POLLINATORS HAS MORE
FRUITS THAN A CACAO TREE
WITH FEW POLLINATORS
INCREASING THE NUMBER OF
POLLINATORS BY MAINTAINING
THE FALLEN CACAO LEAVES
UNDER
THE
CACAO
PLANTATION
IS
A
GOOD
PRACTICE.

MINERAL NUTRITION OF CACAO

DO NOT APPLY FERTILIZER WHEN
THE SOIL IS DRY AND THE DRY DAYS
ARE COMING
IF THE SOIL IS DRY, THE FERTILIZER
AROUND THE ROOTS WILL ABSORB
THE REMAINING WATER IN THE
AREAS SURROUNDING THE ROOTS

MINERAL NUTRITION CURVE

DEFICIENCY ZONE

CRITICAL CONCENTRATION

OPTIMUM

LUXURY CONSUMPTION

TOXICITY ZONE

MINERAL
NUTRITION CURVE
MINERAL NUTRITION CURVE

CACAO ROOTS
CACAO ROOTS ARE CONCENTRATED
AT THE SOIL SURFACE AND IN THE
FIRST 30 CM SOIL DEPTH
CACAO ROOTS EXTEND BEYOND THE
EDGE OF THE CROWN CANOPY
DURING WEEDING, BE CAREFUL NOT
TO CUT THE ROOTS. PULLING THE
WEEDS IS A GOOD PRACTICE

THE CACAO ROOT SYSTEM

FERTILIZER IS APPLIED IN THE ZONE

WHERE THE FEEDER ROOTS ARE
MOST ABUNDANT

THE USE OF MARVELOUS

PREMIUM QUALITY (MPQ)
ORGANIC FERTILIZER, WITH
ITS FACTORY IN MALAYBALAY
BUKIDNON INCREASED THE
YIELD OF MY CACAO
PLANTATION MANY TIMES.

CRIOLLIO CACAO CAN BE

WIPED OUT BY VASCULAR
STREAK DIEBACK (VSD)
ONE TIME IF NOT CLOSELY
GUARDED

THANKS FOR YOUR KIND

ATTENTION

DAGHANG SALAMAT
KANINYONG TANAN
MARAMING SALAMAT PO
SA LAHAT
AGYAMANAK UNAY KINYAYO
AMIN
KAMSAHAMNIDA