418 COCOA 



As to the best planting distances opinions differ. 

 Often we find the Criollo planted at 12x12 feet, 

 which is generally a consequence of the gradual 

 replacing of Liberia coffee, which was planted at that 

 distance. But this is doubtless too close ; a distance of 

 15x15 feet is for Criollo more recommendable. For the 

 Forastero (" Djati Roenggo " hybrid) distances varying 

 between 12x12 and 18x18 have been adopted. When 

 the soil is not exceptionally fertile and the trees do 

 not grow very large, as is the case in Middle Java, 

 15x15 feet seems to me the best average distance. 



When cocoa is not planted in old coffee fields in 

 Middle Java, it is often interplanted with kapok ; this 

 crop grows well on moderate altitudes, where the 

 rainfall is not too heavy. It gives a very light shade. 

 This, together with the fact that the kapok is not a 

 leguminous plant and a soil-improver, makes it necessary 

 to take measures in order to renovate the soil. This 

 is often forgotten by the cocoa planters. Usually the 

 cocoa and the kapok are planted at distances of 1 7 x 1 7 

 in the following manner : 



17 feet 



000 



1 7 feet -[ , x X X = Cocoa. 



*~ I 

 <S J x - Kapok. 



The consequence of the interplanting with kapok 

 is that the soil gets poor, while the growth of the cocoa 

 is checked. This drawback can easily be avoided by 

 the use of green manures in the proper way. The 

 "lamtoro" (Leucaena glg/uca) is very suitable for this 

 purpose ; it is planted rather densely in rows between 

 the cocoa and the kapok, as shown below : 



