7.1 Crop architecture
IPM usually means that farmers must inspect crops regularly, and may involve sanitary harvesting to remove diseased infested pods. It is virtually impossible to do this well in very tall crops.
Good spraying, to maximise coverage on the biological target, likewise needs well managed trees.
Prune trees regularly: reducing the height of tall trees (to 3-4 metres) will make spraying easier, but you may lose a season of crop!
This is probably the most important pre-requirement for implementing GAP: there are various methods to rehabilitate very tall cocoa, as illustrated below.
Left and centre: simple tree height reduction; cuts are made at approximately 1.5 - 2 metres above the ground then treated with copper fungicide. In order to maintain some production, this must be carried out in stages over 4-5 years (e.g. only cut 1/4 of the farm in any one year). Right: rehabilitation after chupon grafting.
Below: side grafting
