Performance of cocoa clones as intercrop in coconut gardens under south Gujarat condition

Field investigation on evaluation of cocoa clones for their performance as intercrop in coconut gardens was carried out for morphological and yield characters at Regional Horticultural Research Station, ASPEE College of Horticulture and Forestry, Navsari, Gujarat during 2009–10 to 2016–17. Five clones viz., VTLCC1, VTLCH-1, VTLCH-2, VTLCH-3 and VTLCH-4 were planted during 2009 under 46 years old WCT coconut garden with four replications in a Randomized Block Design. Data collected for plant height, stem girth, number of pods, pod weight, number of beans per pod, dry bean weight per tree per year and single dry bean weight revealed the significant variations among the five cocoa clones. The clone, VTLCC 1 recorded the highest plant height (4.20 m), stem girth (43.58 cm) and number of pods per tree per year (44.01), whereas VTLCH-4 registered the highest pod weight (134.40 g) and numbers of beans per pod (26.60) and single bean dry weight (1.20 g). Dry bean yield per tree per year was on par among the clones and ranged from 1.29 kg to1.59 kg per tree per year. With respect to overall coconut yield in the garden, the initial yield of coconut (WCT) was 60 nuts/palm/year and it increased upto 82 nuts/palm/year during the year 2016–17.