Pods normally contain 20-50 seeds containing 55-60% cacao butter. A proper fertilizer program will help increase the number of cacao pods.
How to increase number of cacao pods and bean yield
Cacao fruit pods mature after 5-6 months, taking on a yellow or darker red colors.
Crop nutrition
Nitrogen
Traditionally, cacao crops have been grown without fertilizer, relying on the nutrient provided by compost. This often over-supplies nitrogen and leads to poor availability of other nutrients such as phosphorus, potassium and calcium, which are needed for effective cacao growth. For this reason nitrogen-response trials often show little increase in cacao yield response .
Another reason for limited responses to nitrogen sometimes seen in one-off annual trials is that it takes a few years to establish a better nutritional status in the tree before it produces a significant response to nutrient inputs through fertilizer.
Responses are higher when all nutrients are in balance and available in significant quantities. For example under a high potassium regime, the trees will respond to higher nitrogen inputs to fulfil their higher cacao yield potential.
Phosphorus
Phosphorus is essential for a proper formation of flowers and cherelles in cacao, being the basis for achieving high yields.
Continued annual use helps improve yields. Applications up to 200kg/ha of P2O5, significantly above uptake levels, have provided positive yield responses in trials on low P index soils. They may not be economic in the majority of cases.
Highest responses occur when sufficient nitrogen is also supplied to the plant.
Potassium
Response curves commonly show large responses to high rates of potassium from rates of 150-200kg K2O/ha. However, for a target yield of less than 1 tonne of beans per hectare, 70-100 kg K2O should be considered as a sufficient rate in a balanced nutrition situation.
Boron
Boron is commonly applied alongside calcium in cacao and helps to move calcium through the plant. As a result, by getting both boron and calcium to developing tissues, flower set is stronger, and pods are more strongly held on the tree (less pod drop). After application to the soil, boron can provide positive cacao yield increases.
Zinc
Use of zinc ultimately increases bean yield and also the number of pods on the tree
