Abstract

Cocoa cultivation in Nakhon Ratchasima Province receives less annual rainfall than the southern and eastern regions of Thailand. The Chumphon 1 cocoa hybrid is widely grown in Thailand due to its disease resistance, high yield and high seed fat. The yield and growth of 3-year-old cocoa hybrid trees grown in an open field monoculture were evaluated at the National Corn and Sorghum Research Center, Pak Chong District, Nakhon Ratchasima Province. Two cocoa hybrids, Chumphon 1 and UIT1 x Na32, were used in this study. Data were collected from November 2023 to February 2024. The results showed that the cumulative yield of Chumphon 1 cocoa over 4 months was 3 times higher than that of UIT1 x Na32. However, Chumphon 1 had significantly higher average fresh pod weight, fresh seed weight and dry seed weight than UIT1 x Na32. No significant differences were found between Chumphon 1 and UIT1 x Na32 in plant height, stem diameter, pod size and seed number per pod.