Effect of fertigation through drip and micro sprinkler on pod characters in cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.)

Abstract: A field experiment to study the influence of fertigation through drip and micro sprinkler of N, P and K fertilizers on pod characters of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) was conducted at Coimbatore, India during January 2010 to December 2011. The experiment was laid out with thirteen treatments replicated three times in a randomized block design. The study revealed that, fertigation with 125 per cent RDF (Recommended Dose of Fertilizer) as water soluble fertilizer by drip irrigation (T₄) recorded the highest pod length (17.72 cm), pod girth (28.69 cm), pod weight (541.88 g), husk weight (387.83 g), pod volume (610.55 cc) and number of pods per tree per year (59.49) as against 12.98, 12.76, 31.69, 29.51, 34.66 and 21.05 % increase over the control (T₁), respectively. The same treatment (T₄) recorded the lowest number of cherelle’s per tree (9.59) and pod value (16.11).