1. Cocoa: Plant Anatomy and Morphology

Plant Classification: 

Cocoa, lat. Theobroma Cacao, belongs to the Sterculiaceae family. This family is part of the order Malvales which classify as Dicotelydons. They are flowering plants, Magnoliophyta. Cocoa plants can be subdivided into three main groups: Forastero, Criollo, and Trinitario which is a hybrid between the first two groups. In the Ivory Coast, Forastero is the moct cultivated group of cocoa.

Plant Anatomy: 

As already mentioned, the cocoa plant is a dicotelydon. "Dicots" are plants that have seeds with two seed leaves, instead of only one like Monocotelydons. The make-up of the seed determines certain characteristics of the final plant. 
When looking at the picture of the entire cocoa tree, a few distinctive characteristics of a dicot plant can be seen. 

Figure 1

  
Roots: Dicot plants have a taproot system. That means that they have one main root from which smaller roots branch off.  

Figure 2

Leaves: Unlike the straight linear leaf veins of a monocot plant, a dicot plant shows network.like leaf veins. The cocoa leaves are dark green with clearly visible network-shaped veins. 

Flowers: Typical dicot flowers have 4-5 flower petals. As you can see on the picture on the right, the cocoa  flower has 5 petals. The flowers are usually white and yellow and are classified as complete flowers. Complete flowers have four distinctive organs: stamen (male part) and pistils (female part), petals (flower leaves) and sepals (leaves underneath flower leaves).

Figure 3

 
Fruits: The fruits of the cocoa tree are called "pods". Depending on the variety, they have different colors. The pods contain about 30 to 40 seeds or cocoa beans. These seeds have, as already mentioned, two seed leaves or cotelydons.

Figure 4

Origin and production of Cocoa: 

Cocoa plants are perennial tree crops that originate from Central and South America. However, two thirds of worldwide cocoa production take place in West Africa. The reson for that iis, that Spanish and British colonists exported the cocoa plant and brought it to their colonies in Africa. The tropical climate conditions there are perfect for the cultivation of cocoa. With approximately 1,5 million tons produced annually, the Ivory Coast ranks first in the worldwide cocoa production. Most of the cocoa farmers in the Ivory Coast are classified as smallholder farmers with a production area of 3 hecatres maximum.

Figure 5

  

 

 

 

Cultivation of Cocoa:

The cocoa plant is a shade-loving plant. It likes to be grown along with other tropical plants and trees that give shade. Therefore, it is usually cultivated as a mixed crop or inter crop next to other species. Mostly, the cultivation is rainfed.
Pruning is alo very important when cultivating cocoa. The branches grow into different directions and by pruning, the growth and shape of the plants can be influenced and optimized. It also ensures that the flowers and fruits of the trees receive adequate amounts of light.

Figure 6

 

 

References

CACAO.IC. (n.d.). CHALLENGES OF THE COCOA ECONOMY IN COTE D'IVOIRE . Retrieved 09 2018, from http://www.cacao.gouv.ci/index.php?rubrique=1.1.6&langue=en

FAOSTAT. (2018). Food and Agricultural Organization. Retrieved 09 2018, from http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QC

Seheran, S. (2018). Lecture: Plant Anatomy and Morphology. 's-Hertogenbosch. Retrieved 09 2018

USDA. (n.d.). Classification for Kingdom Plantae Down to Genus Theobroma L. Retrieved 09 2018, from https://plants.usda.gov/java/ClassificationServlet?source=display&classid=THEOB)

Worldagroforestry. (n.d.). An Overview of Cocoa Production in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana. Retrieved 09 2018, from https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=11&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiByPad7q3dAhUKPFAKHRBODNQQFjAKegQIAhAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.worldagroforestry.org%2Ftreesandmarkets%2Finaforesta%2Fdocuments%2FCocoa_production_in_Cote_divoire.doc&

pictures:

Figure 1: https://d2gg9evh47fn9z.cloudfront.net/800px_COLOURBOX4204184.jpg

Figure 2: http://www.beanstobars.sg/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/cacao-cocoa-coca-cocoa-pods-beans-1200x680.jpg

Figure 3: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/17/a0/75/17a075dcd45b0e1e783c375f2c2284c3.jpg

Figure 4: https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/b/illustration-showing-parts-cocoa-plant-green-background-beautiful-109096653.jpg
Figure 5: http://www.worldagroforestry.org/treesandmarkets/inaforesta/images/history_map2.jpg 
Figure 6: https://www.knowfarming.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/cocoa-cultivation.jpg