Editing Cocoa bean (section)

=== Harvesting ===

[[File:Ateh Eldeno harvesting coacoa.jpg|thumb|Harvesting in Cameroon]]

Cacao trees grow in hot, rainy tropical areas within 20° of [[latitude]] from the [[Equator]]. Cocoa harvest is not restricted to one period per year and a harvest typically occurs over several months. In fact, in many countries, cocoa can be harvested at any time of the year.<ref name="Wood"/> [[Pesticide]]s are often applied to the trees to combat [[capsid bug]]s, and [[fungicide]]s to fight [[black pod disease]].<ref name="Abenyega"/>

Immature cocoa pods have a variety of colours, but most often are green, red, or purple, and as they mature, their colour tends towards yellow or orange, particularly in the creases.<ref name="Wood">{{cite book |last1=Wood |first1=G. A. R. |last2=Lass |first2=R. A. |title=Cocoa |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=urs9QCMKOw4C&q=ripe%20colour&pg=PA25 |edition=4th |series=Tropical agriculture serie |year=2001 |publisher=John Wiley and Sons |isbn=978-0-632-06398-7}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Hui |first1=Yiu H. |title=Handbook of food science, technology, and engineering |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rTjysvUxB8wC&q=ripe%20cacao%20pod&pg=PA22 |volume=4 |year=2006 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-0-8493-9849-0}}</ref> Unlike most fruiting trees, the cacao pod grows directly from the trunk or large branch of a tree rather than from the end of a branch, similar to [[jackfruit]]. This makes harvesting by hand easier as most of the pods will not be up in the higher branches. The pods on a tree do not ripen together; harvesting needs to be done periodically through the year.<ref name="Wood"/> Harvesting occurs between three and four times weekly during the harvest season.<ref name="Wood"/> The ripe and near-ripe pods, as judged by their colour, are harvested from the trunk and branches of the cacao tree with a curved [[knife]] on a long pole. Care must be used when cutting the stem of the pod to avoid damaging the junction of the stem with the tree, as this is where future flowers and pods will emerge.<ref name="Wood" /><ref>{{cite book |last=Dand |first=Robin |title=The international cocoa trade |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pj5Y3YpAoFUC&pg=PA51 |edition=2nd |year=1999 |publisher=Woodhead Publishing |isbn=978-1-85573-434-0}}</ref> One person can harvest an estimated 650 pods per day.<ref name="Abenyega">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rw-NW5EFTs0C&q=ripe%20cocoa%20pods%20harvest&pg=PA11 |title=Labor practices in the cocoa sector of Ghana with a special focus on the role of children |first1=Olivia |last1=Abenyega |first2=James |last2=Gockowski |name-list-style= amp |publisher= International Institute of Tropical Agriculture |year= 2003 |isbn= 978-978-131-218-2 |pages= 10–11}}</ref><ref name="Gockowski">{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=E2x5hlVlaUUC&q=ripe%20cocoa%20pods%20harvest&pg=PA12 |title=Labor practices in the cocoa sector of southwest Nigeria with a focus on the role of children |first1=J. |last1=Gockowski |first2= S. |last2=Oduwole  |publisher= International Institute of Tropical Agriculture |year= 2003 |isbn= 978-978-131-215-1 |pages= 11–15}}</ref>