Main Article : The Advantages of Cocoa

I make this article just for my beloved father, because his struggle to cultivate the cocoa in the barren place & finally got a success. Thanks for reading my article.

Gunungkidul is one of the regency in Yogyakarta Special Region. Region which is famous for producing dried cassava was also having other superior products. One of the flagship product in Gunungkidul District is Cocoa plantation cultivation. Often times we hear people say that the layman who was plantations with a chocolate plant. Perhaps because this crop is the basic raw material of flour manufacture chocolate which was subsequently processed into food chocolate almost every day we meet in the stalls or shops around where we live. But actually the original name of this plant is Cocoa.

Please note that this very productive cocoa trees in the area of Gunungkidul District. Pembididayaan cocoa plant is potentially very beneficial to improve the economy of small communities and medium enterprises, to industry. In a session this time allow me to convey some information about the cultivation of cocoa plants that existed and developed in Gunungkidul District. Starting from cultivation till harvesting systems, and also marketing.

In the discussion this time we will mempelajasi sub sub chapter by chapter to make it easier to understand. Sub-chapter we will discuss are:

1. Cacao cultivation system.
Cacao cultivation system here will we start from the nursery. Seeding is the first step we will get results from the very small size to reach productive age in a plantation. As for the nature of this breeding system is also divided into two, namely:
• Direct Membibit individually
Farmers cultivating his own seeds to plant cocoa directly from cocoa beans that have been sorted.
• Using the services of the Breeding

Farmers do not plant the seeds directly by ordering sn cocoa but the people in charge do nurseries that have been determined in accordance with the procedures.
Oh yea .. in agricultural technology, with the aim meningkatkatkan production, farmers demanded creative in implementing plant maintenance with the existing agricultural technology. For example with the system and connect the top side graft. Which connection system uses intres (partly derived from other similar plants and is considered more superior than the parent plants).

2. Superior Seed Selection
How do I choose a good cocoa seeds?
Seeds are a good cocoa cocoa seedlings during normal pertumbuhanya according to spec (standard quality seeds). The point of the parent plants are certified.

3. Cultivation
How to planting seeds of good cocoa and banar are:
• cocoa seedlings will be planted approximately 5-6 months old.
• With a height of approximately 50 cm.
• Batng large and the number of leaves at least 12 sheets.

4. Land Application
Cocoa crop to be grown on a parcel of land that had been prepared beforehand before.

5. How to planting
The way of planting cocoa trees is not so complicated, provided in accordance with the procedures, antaralain:
• cacao tree seedlings will be planted at least 5-6 months old.
• Spacing between 3-5 meters from one tree to another tree.
• Need to consider the existence of plants such perindang Turi, and Manding.
• Cocoa plantations were planted in a hole measuring 40 x 40 cm.
• When 3-year-old cocoa, cocoa berbungan and this will start to bear fruit. Well at the moment of fertilization was performed. The right combination of fertilizer can stimulate a good productivity. The combination is commonly used TSP: UREA: KCl = 1: 2: 1 (use of organic fertilizer is better)
• Cocoa plantations will start earning at the age of five years.

6. Cocoa plant maintenance mode
Cocoa plant maintenance mode is quite simple. Among others:
• Done on a regular basis pruning unwanted branches. Tujuanya so at least, sunlight can go at least 30%.
• Pruning of shoots that are not needed. The goal is to shoots did not grow so large that interfere with nutrient intake of other branches that are unproductive.
• If you want more productivity can be added with entres (a kind of paste, which is used on cocoa farmers in the area sambipitu) by taking from other bars that are considered superior.

7. How to BUD
The cacao fruit picking this way there are several techniques, including:
• Harvesting should be done correctly and not damage the bearing of fruit. Because if the damaged bearing fruit, bearing fruit for the fruit can not be used again and can inhibit the process more fruitful.
• Therefore, the cacao fruit picking should use: knife, sickle, or other similar tool.
• Picking performed on the base of fruit (fruit stalk section closest to the fruit)

8. Harvesting technique
Now here's my way of harvesting cocoa differentiate into two, namely:
a) Harvesting fermentation
Harvesting, fermentation is an appropriate harvesting procedure and produce cocoa beans and cocoa typical high quality. Because no system within the fermentation harvest system.
b) Direct Harvesting