Cocoa

Water

Too dry to grow on rain alone. It would need irrigation.

Needs about 1,160 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 520 mm it can use in a normal year, and 420 mm in a dry year.

Temperature

Grows best at 21–32 °C on average, and survives 10–38 °C.

Here, in its growing months (day / night):

• Jun 27 °C / 17 °C
• Jul 24 °C / 17 °C (outside its best range)
• Aug 24 °C / 17 °C (outside its best range)
• Sep 23 °C / 15 °C (outside its best range)
• Oct 21 °C / 11 °C (outside its best range)
• Nov 17 °C / 6 °C (outside its best range)
• Dec 14 °C / 3 °C (outside its best range)
• Jan 11 °C / 2 °C (outside its best range)
• Feb 13 °C / 4 °C (outside its best range)
• Mar 18 °C / 8 °C (outside its best range)
• Apr 23 °C / 12 °C (outside its best range)
• May 26 °C / 15 °C (outside its best range)
• Jun 27 °C / 17 °C

Nights in November can bring frost. When frost is forecast, water the field lightly in the evening.

Soil

Soil for Cocoa: 9 out of 10 (good).

Not in the score: sulphur and boron.

• The pH here suits it.
• Most fields here are short of nitrogen.

Likes pH 5.0–6.5.

Money

Yield: about 1.2 quintals an acre, the typical figure across India (no figures for your state).

A new planting gives its first real harvest after about 3 years. The money here is for plants already bearing.

Rain gives it too little of the water it needs, so there's no income figure on rain alone: grow it only with irrigation.

No mandi or support price for this crop yet.