Cocoa pruning

Abstract

Pruning is a management practice used by plantation tree-crop farmers through out the tropics. It is done to prevent a crop such as a cocoa tree growing very tall, by developing second and third storeys from the original jourquette of a young cocoa tree. Pruning allows a cocoa tree to attain a constant height throughout its productive period, helps in preventing the spread of pests and diseases, and allow the use of proper management practices.