 
ith
fruit of all shapes, colors and textures growing straight out of its
slender trunk, the cacao tree would clearly strike most observers as very
peculiar. Its unique, perpetual lifecycle adds to its exotic look. With no
distinct season for harvest, flowers will bud at the same time melon-sized
fruit is ready to be picked. The color pallet of cacao fruit is varied and
rich, ranging from bright green to alizarin crimson, royal purple, burnt
orange and Provençal yellow. The shapes of the pods are as varied as the
colors and sizes, and range from rotund casabas to pointy footballs.
Length is typically between 9-13" and weight, at maturity, can reach
up to one pound.
Amazingly,
pods on the same tree are often totally different shapes and hues. The
color variation and indiscriminant ripening makes it difficult to know
when to harvest. That is one reason most cacao plantations are still
farmed by highly specialized groups of workers who pass knowledge down
from one generation to the next.
Shade
is essential to the health of traditionally grown trees to ensure leaves
don't burn in the sun and to help maintain the thin soils around the
roots, keeping the dirt from drying out and eroding. Drip irrigation is
now employed on many newer farms, but a variety of complementary trees,
providing shade at different stages of the cacao tree's growth, appear to
remain the most successful method of farming.
Like
grape vines, it takes 3-4 years before a cacao tree bears usable fruit.
Even then, the annual production of pods is extremely low relative to the
number of flowers produced throughout the yearlong growing season. Less
than 1 in 10 flowers are successfully pollinated and become pods.
Thousands of flowers are needed each year to compensate for such low
fertility. Once pollinated, it takes 5-6 months for pods to reach
maturity.
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