Cocoa Nursery_Basically......

Seedlings preparation start from getting the beans from the cocoa pod and separate them from placenta and the husks. Choose only well-matured and ripe pods. The beans are cleaned and good regular size beans are selected from small and flat beans. The seeds are kept on a wet layer of clothing and covered also with a wet layer of clothing for germination of the roots from the seeds. The clothing/wet gunny bag are kept wet daily during checking of germinated seeds; daily the seeds are checked and germinated seeds are transferred for planting.In the meantime while waiting for the seeds to germinate, which can be from one to ten days’ time, perforated black polythene bags / polybags are filled with soil free of leaves, sticks, roots and other impurities and arrange in the nursery bed. Germinated seeds are transferred to polybags. Daily watering except during rainy days and weeding of grasses is done to ensure good growth. Seedlings are ready for budding at about 3 month old. After budding, the seedlings are kept maintained in the nursery for a another 3 months before being dispatched to the field for planting.