Abstract

                                Geo-referenced soil samples were collected from forty cocoa-growinglocations across six districts (Coimbatore, Dindigul, Erode, Namakkal, Salemand Tirunuelveli) of Tamil Nadu. Analysis of data revealed that a vast majorityof the samples were alkaline (83 %), non-saline, low in organic carbon (51.3%), low in KMnO4-N (75 %), medium in available phosphorus (60 %) andmedium in available potassium (51.25 %). The soils were predominantlydeficient in DTPA Zn (71.25 %) and DTPA Cu (32.5 %) in the samplinglocations. About 20 % of the cocoa-growing locations were calcareous. Thecorrelation between free CaCO3 content of soil and pod yield revealed thatcocoa productivity is drastically affected if the free CaCO3 content of soilis more than 8.0%. Soil suitability assessment is highly imperative beforeundertaking cocoa intercropping in coconut gardens of Tamil Nadu.

Key words : Calcareousness; Cocoa; Coconut; Intercropping; Pod yield; Soil Fertility