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                   Philippine Bureau of Agriculture.


                        Farmer's Bulletin No. 2.

                    CACAO CULTURE IN THE PHILIPPINES



                                   By

                            WILLIAM S. LYON,

               In charge of seed and plant introduction.



        Prepared under the direction of the Chief of the Bureau.

                                Manila:

                       Bureau of Public Printing.

                                 1902.





CONTENTS.


                                            Page.

        Letter of transmittal                 4
        Introduction                          5
        Climate                               6
        The plantation site                   7
        The soil                              7
        Preparation of the soil               8
        Drainage                              8
        Forming the plantation                9
        Selection of varieties               10
        Planting                             11
        Cultivation                          13
        Pruning                              13
        Harvest                              16
        Enemies and diseases                 18
        Manuring                             19
        Supplemental notes                   21
        New varieties                        21
        Residence                            21
        Cost of a cacao plantation           22





LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL.


Sir: I submit herewith an essay on the cultivation of cacao, for the
use of planters in the Philippines. This essay is prompted first,
because much of the cacao grown here is of such excellent quality as
to induce keen rivalry among buyers to procure it at an advance of
quite 50 per cent over the common export grades of the Java bean,
notwithstanding the failure on the part of the local grower to
"process" or cure the product in any way; second, because in parts
of Mindanao and <DW64>s, despite ill treatment or no treatment, the
plant exhibits a luxuriance of growth and wealth of productiveness
that demonstrates its entire fitness for those regions and leads us
to believe in the successful extension of its propagation throughout
these Islands; and lastly because of the repeated calls upon the Chief
of the Agricultural Bureau for literature or information bearing upon
this important horticultural industry.

The importance of cacao-growing in the Philippines can hardly be
overestimated. Recent statistics place the world's demand for cacao
(exclusive of local consumption) at 200,000,000 pounds, valued at
more than $30,000,000 gold.

There is little danger of overproduction and consequent low prices
for very many years to come. So far as known, the areas where cacao
prospers in the great equatorial zone are small, and the opening and
development of suitable regions has altogether failed to keep pace
with the demand.

The bibliography of cacao is rather limited, and some of the best
publications, [2] being in French, are unavailable to many. The leading
English treatise, by Professor Hart, [3] admirable in many respects,
deals mainly with conditions in Trinidad, West Indies, and is fatally
defective, if not misleading, on the all-important question of pruning.

The life history of the cacao, its botany, chemistry, and statistics
are replete with interest, and will, perhaps, be treated in a future
paper.


    Respectfully,

        Wm. S. Lyon,
        In Charge of Seed and Plant Introduction.

        Hon. F. Lamson-Scribner,
        Chief of the Insular Bureau of Agriculture.





CACAO CULTURE IN THE PHILIPPINES.

INTRODUCTION.


Cacao in cultivation exists nearly everywhere in the Archipelago. I
have observed it in several provinces of Luzon, in Mindanao, Jolo,
Basilan, Panay, and <DW64>s, and have well-verified assurances of its
presence in Cebu, Bohol, and Masbate, and it is altogether reasonable
to predicate its existence upon all the larger islands anywhere under
an elevation of 1,000 or possibly 1,200 meters. Nevertheless, in many
localities the condition of the plants is such as not to justify the
general extension of cacao cultivation into all regions. The presence
of cacao in a given locality is an interesting fact, furnishing a
useful guide for investigation and agricultural experimentation, but,
as the purpose of this paper is to deal with cacao growing from a
commercial standpoint, it is well to state that wherever reference is
made to the growth, requirements, habits, or cultural treatment of the
plant the commercial aspect is alone considered. As an illustration,
attention is called to the statement made elsewhere, that "cacao exacts
a minimum temperature of 18 deg."; although, as is perfectly well known
to the writer, its fruit has sometimes matured where the recorded
temperatures have fallen as low as 10 deg.. There is much to be learned
here by experimentation, for as yet the cultivation is primitive
in the extreme, pruning of any kind rudimentary or negative, and
"treatment" of the nut altogether unknown.

Elsewhere in cacao-producing countries its cultivation has long passed
the experimental stage, and the practices that govern the management
of a well-ordered cacao plantation are as clearly defined as those
of an orange grove in Florida or a vineyard in California.

In widely scattered localities the close observer will find many
young trees that in vigor, color, and general health leave nothing
to be desired, but before making final selection for a plantation he
should inspect trees of larger growth for evidences of "die back" of
the branches. If "die back" is present, superficial examination will
generally determine if it is caused by neglect or by the attacks
of insects. If not caused by neglect or insect attacks, he may
assume that some primary essential to the continued and successful
cultivation of the tree is wanting and that the location is unsuited
to profitable plantations.

With due regard to these preliminary precautions and a close
oversight of every subsequent operation, there is no reason why the
growing of cacao may not ultimately become one of the most profitable
horticultural enterprises that can engage the attention of planters
in this Archipelago.





CLIMATE.


It is customary, when writing of any crop culture, to give precedence
to site and soil, but in the case of cacao these considerations are
of secondary importance, and while none of the minor operations of
planting, pruning, cultivation, and fertilizing may be overlooked,
they are all outweighed by the single essential--climate.

In general, a state of atmospheric saturation keeps pace with heavy
rainfall, and for that reason we may successfully look for the highest
relative humidity upon the eastern shores of the Archipelago, where
the rainfall is more uniformly distributed over the whole year,
than upon the west.

There are places where the conditions are so peculiar as to challenge
especial inquiry. We find on the peninsula of Zamboanga a recorded
annual mean rainfall of only 888 mm., and yet cacao (unirrigated)
exhibits exceptional thrift and vigor. It is true that this rain is
so evenly distributed throughout the year that every drop becomes
available, yet the total rainfall is insufficient to account for
the very evident and abundant atmospheric humidity indicated by
the prosperous conditions of the cacao plantations. The explanation
of this phenomenon, as made to me by the Rev. Father Algue, of the
Observatory of Manila, is to the effect that strong equatorial ocean
currents constantly prevail against southern Mindanao, and that their
influence extend north nearly to the tenth degree of latitude. These
currents, carrying their moisture-laden atmosphere, would naturally
affect the whole of this narrow neck of land and influence as well
some of the western coast of Mindanao, and probably place it upon
the same favored hygrometric plane as the eastern coast, where the
rainfall in some localities amounts to 4 meters a year.

While 2,000 mm. of mean annual rainfall equably distributed is ample
to achieve complete success, it seems almost impossible to injure
cacao by excessive precipitation. It has been known to successfully
tide over inundation of the whole stem up to the first branches for
a period covering nearly a month.

Irrigation must be resorted to in cases of deficient or unevenly
distributed rainfall, and irrigation is always advantageous whenever
there is suspension of rain for a period of more than fifteen days.

Concerning temperatures the best is that with an annual mean of 26 deg.
to 28 deg., with 20 deg. as the mean minimum where any measure of success
may be expected. A mean temperature of over 30 deg. is prejudicial to
cacao growing.

The last but not least important of the atmospheric phenomena for
our consideration are the winds. Cacao loves to "steam and swelter in
its own atmosphere" and high winds are inimical, and even refreshing
breezes are incompatible, with the greatest success. As there are but
few large areas in these Islands that are exempt from one or other
of our prevailing winds, the remedies that suggest themselves are:
The selection of small sheltered valleys where the prevailing winds
are directly cut off by intervening hills or mountains; the plantation
of only small groves in the open, and their frequent intersection by
the plantation of rapid growing trees; and, best of all, plantings
made in forest clearings, where the remaining forested lands will
furnish the needed protection.





LOCATION.


It is always desirable to select a site that is approximately level
or with only enough fall to assure easy drainage. Such sites may
be planted symmetrically and are susceptible to the easiest and
most economical application of the many operations connected with
a plantation.

Provided the region is well forested and therefore protected from
sea breezes, the plantation may be carried very near to the coast,
provided the elevation is sufficient to assure the grove immunity from
incursions of tide water, which, however much diluted, will speedily
cause the death of the plants.

Excavations should be made during the dry season to determine that
water does not stand within 1 1/2 meters of the surface, a more
essential condition, however, when planting is made "at stake" than
when nursery reared trees are planted.

Hillsides, when not too precipitous, frequently offer admirable shelter
and desirable soils, but their use entails a rather more complicated
system of drainage, to carry away storm water without land washing,
and for the ready conversion of the same into irrigating ditches during
the dry season. Further, every operation involved must be performed
by hand labor, and in the selection of such a site the planter must
be largely influenced by the quantity and cost of available labor.

The unexceptionable shelter, the humidity that prevails, and the
inexhaustible supply of humus that is generally found in deep
forest ravines frequently lead to their planting to cacao where
the <DW72> is even as great as 45 deg.. Such plantations, if done upon
a considerable commercial scale, involve engineering problems and
the careful terracing of each tree, and, except for a dearth of more
suitable locations, is a practice that has little to commend it to
the practical grower.





THE SOIL.


Other things being equal, preference should be given to a not too
tenacious, clayey loam. Selection, in fact, may be quite successfully
made through the process of exclusion, and by eliminating all soils
of a very light and sandy nature, or clays so tenacious that the
surface bakes and cracks while still too wet within 3 or 4 inches of
the surface to operate with farm tools. These excluded, still leave
a very wide range of silt, clay, and loam soils, most of which are
suitable to cacao culture.

Where properly protected from the wind a rocky soil, otherwise good,
is not objectionable; in fact, such lands have the advantage of
promoting good drainage.





PREPARATION OF THE SOIL.


When the plantation is made upon forest lands, it is necessary to
cut and burn all underbrush, together with all timber trees other
than those designed for shade. If such shade trees are left (and the
advisability of leaving them will be discussed in the proper place),
only those of the pulse or bean family are to be recommended. It should
also be remembered that, owing in part to the close planting of cacao
and in part to the fragility of its wood and its great susceptibility
to damage resulting from wounds, subsequent removal of large shade
trees from the plantation is attended with difficulty and expense,
and the planter should leave few shade trees to the hectare. Clearing
the land should be done during the dry season, and refuse burned in
situ, thereby conserving to the soil the potash salts so essential
to the continued well-being of cacao.

The land should be deeply plowed, and, if possible, subsoiled as well,
and then, pending the time of planting the orchard, it may be laid
down to corn, cotton, beans, or some forage plant. Preference should
be given to "hoed crops," as it is essential to keep the surface in
open tilth, as well as to destroy all weeds.

The common practice in most cacao-growing countries is to simply dig
deep holes where the trees are to stand, and to give a light working
to the rest of the surface just sufficient to produce the intermediate
crops. This custom is permissible only on <DW72>s too steep for the
successful operation of a side hill plow, or where from lack of draft
animals all cultivation has to be done by hand.

Cacao roots deeply, and with relatively few superficial feeders,
and the deeper the soil is worked the better.





DRAINAGE.


The number and size of the drains will depend upon the amount of
rainfall, the contour of the land, and the natural absorbent character
of the soil. In no case should the ditches be less than 1 meter wide
and 60 cm. deep, and if loose stones are at hand the sloping sides
may be laid with them, which will materially protect them from washing
by torrential rains.

These main drains should all be completed prior to planting. Connecting
laterals may be opened subsequently, as the necessities of further
drainage or future irrigation may demand; shallow furrows will
generally answer for these laterals, and as their obliteration will
practically follow every time cultivation is given, their construction
may be of the cheapest and most temporary nature. Owing to the
necessity of main drainage canals and the needful interplanting of
shade plants between the rows of cacao, nothing is gained by laying off
the land for planting in what is called "two ways," and all subsequent
working of the orchard will consequently be in one direction.





THE PLANTATION.


Cacao, relatively to the size of the tree, may be planted very
closely. We have stated that it rejoices in a close, moisture-laden
atmosphere, and this permits of a closer planting than would be
admissible with any other orchard crop.

In very rich soil the strong-growing Forastero variety may be planted
3.7 meters apart each way, or 745 trees to the hectare, and on lighter
lands this, or the more dwarf-growing forms of Criollo, may be set
as close as 3 meters or rather more than 1,000 trees to the hectare.

The rows should be very carefully lined out in one direction and
staked where the young plants are to be set, and then (a year before
the final planting) between each row of cacao a line of temporary
shelter plants are to be planted. These should be planted in quincunx
order, i. e., at the intersecting point of two lines drawn between
the diagonal corners of the square made by four cacaos set equidistant
each way. This temporary shelter is indispensable for the protection
of the young plantation from wind and sun.

The almost universal custom is to plant, for temporary shelter, suckers
of fruiting bananas, but throughout the Visayas and in Southern Luzon
I think abaca could be advantageously substituted. It is true that,
as commonly grown, abaca does not make so rank a growth as some
of the plantains, but if given the perfect tillage which the cacao
plantation should receive, and moderately rich soils, abaca ought to
furnish all necessary shade. This temporary shade may be maintained
till the fourth or fifth year, when it is to be grubbed out and the
stalks and stumps, which are rich in nitrogen, may be left to decay
upon the ground. At present prices, the four or five crops which
may be secured from the temporary shelter plants ought to meet the
expenses of the entire plantation until it comes into bearing.

In the next step, every fourth tree in the fourth or fifth row
of cacao may be omitted and its place filled by a permanent shade
tree. The planting of shade trees or "madre de cacao" among the cacao
has been observed from time immemorial in all countries where the crop
is grown, and the primary purpose of the planting has been for shade
alone. Observing that these trees were almost invariably of the pulse
or legume family, the writer, in the year 1892, raised the question,
in the Proceedings of the Southern California Horticultural Society,
that the probable benefits derived were directly attributable to the
abundant fertilizing microoerganisms developed in the soil by these
leguminous plants, rather than the mechanical protection they afforded
from the sun's rays.

To Mr. O. F. Cook, of the United States Department of Agriculture,
however, belongs the credit of publishing, in 1901, [4] a resume of
his inquiries into the subject of the shades used for both the coffee
and the cacao, and which fully confirmed the previous opinions that
the main benefit derived from these trees was their influence in
maintaining a constant supply of available nitrogen in the soil.

That cacao and its wild congenors naturally seek the shelter of
well-shaded forests is well established; but having seen trees in these
Islands that were fully exposed at all times showing no evidences of
either scald, burn, or sun spot, and in every respect the embodiment
of vigor and health, we are fully justified in assuming that here the
climatic conditions are such as will permit of taking some reasonable
liberties with this time-honored practice and supply needed nitrogen
to the soil by the use of cheap and effective "catch crops," such us
cowpeas or soy beans.

Here, as elsewhere, an Erythrina, known as "dap-dap," is a favorite
shade tree among native planters; the rain tree (Pithecolobium saman)
is also occasionally used, and in one instance only have I seen a
departure from the use of the Leguminosae, and that in western Mindanao,
there is a shade plantation composed exclusively of Cananga odorata,
locally known as ilang-ilang.

While not yet prepared to advocate the total exclusion of all shade
trees, I am prepared to recommend a shade tree, if shade trees there
must be, whose utility and unquestioned value has singularly escaped
notice. The tree in question, the Royal Poinciana (Poinciana regia),
embodies all of the virtues that are ascribed to the best of the
pulse family, is easily procured, grows freely and rapidly from seed
or cutting, furnishes a minimum of shade at all times, and, in these
Islands, becomes almost leafless, at the season of maturity of the
largest cacao crop when the greatest sun exposure is desired.

The remaining preparatory work consists in the planting of intersecting
wind breaks at intervals throughout the grove, and upon sides exposed
to winds, or where a natural forest growth does not furnish such a
shelter belt. Unless the plantation lies in a particularly protected
valley, no plantation, however large in the aggregate, should cover
more than 4 or 5 hectares unbroken by at least one row of wind-break
trees. Nothing that I know of can approach the mango for this
purpose. It will hold in check the fiercest gale and give assurance
to the grower that after any storm his cacao crop is still on the
trees and not on the ground, a prey to ants, mice, and other vermin.





SELECTION OF VARIETIES.


All the varieties of cacao in general cultivation may be referred to
three general types, the Criollo, Forastero, and Calabacillo; and
of these, those that I have met in cultivation in the Archipelago
are the first and