Skip to main content

Cacao tree (Theobroma cacao)

Kakao or cacao tree (Theobroma cacao) is a perennial plant species in Malvaceae in the tropics, in the form of a tree 10 m high but in cultivation it will be limited to only 5 m to expand the canopy and multiply branches so that more fruit grows where the seeds are processed as chocolate.

T. cacao has flowers like other Sterculiaceae members that grow directly from the stem, perfect and single flowers, 3 cm in diameter, but appear in panicles because often a bunch of flowers emerges from a single bud.

Dlium Cacao tree (Theobroma cacao)

The flowers are white and are ready to be pollinated within a few days especially by the Forcipomyia fly, winged ants, aphids and some Trigona bees which usually occur at night. The main pests of this plant are Bactrocera carambolae and Bactrocera papayae.

Cacao trees generally cross-pollinate and have their own incompatibilities, but some varieties are capable of self-pollinating and produce higher-selling commodity types.

The fruit grows from pollinated flowers, has a fruit size much larger than the flower and is round to elongated. The fruit consists of five lines and the space where seeds grow. Young fruit is green to purple, but the outer skin is usually yellow when ripe.

Seeds arranged on the placenta that grow from the base of the fruit on the inside. The seeds are black and protected by soft white aryl. Endospermia contains high levels of fat. Pulp is generally fermented for three days then the seeds are dried in the sun.



Cocoa likes shade with a potential yield of 50-120 fruits/tree/year. It often grows in clumps along the river bank where the roots may be inundated for a long time in a year. It grows at an altitude of 300 meters with rainfall of 1000 to 3000 mm/year.

In general, cacao trees start to bear fruit and are harvested when they are 4-5 years old. Mature trees may have 6000 flowers a year, but only produce about 20. About 300-600 seeds from about 10 fruits are needed to produce 1 kg of cocoa paste.

T. cacao has three varieties. Forastero grows in the lowlands, has harder seeds and cheaper prices on the market, Criolo or fine cocoa can be planted in higher, rarest and most valuable plains. Trinitario or hybrids from Forastero and Criolo.

Trinitario has a high productivity character, quickly undergoes a generative phase after the age of 2 years, is resistant to VSD (Vascular Streak Dieback), harvests throughout the year, fermentation is only 6 days, controls market share and has a preferred chocolate flavor.


The beans are fermented to produce cocoa butter and powder. The distinctive taste of chocolate develops during the fermentation process. Chocolate contains large amounts of polyphenols, especially flavonoids such as flavan-3-ols which are responsible for bitterness and astringence in raw cocoa beans. Polyphenols can be found in such high quantities that raw seeds cannot be eaten.

Cocoa powder is an ingredient for making cakes, ice cream, snacks, milk and others. The character of the chocolate flavor is savory with a distinctive aroma so that it is liked by many people especially children and teenagers. The Indonesian National Standardization Agency has issued rules on standardization of chocolate and chocolate products for SNI 7934:2014 code.

Cocoa flavonoids and their derivatives are very useful for the prevention of cardiovascular and degenerative disorders, antioxidants are protective against free radicals and other degenerative species prevent LDL oxidation, modulate vascular homeostasis, and inhibit platelet aggregation.

The metabolomic study that can be done is to determine the quality of cocoa beans from each variety in terms of the metabolites it produces. In addition, metabolomic studies can also be carried out to optimize the fermentation process that produces quality cocoa beans when viewed in terms of metabolites and their relationship to the chocolate flavor they produce.

Cocoa beans have 45-53.2% fat in the form of cocoa butter consisting of various fatty acids. Cocoa beans contain up to 10% phenols and flavenoids which are antioxidants that have the potential to inhibit cancer or cardiovascular disease, as well as potassium, magnesium, calcium and iron. Also contains 1-3% theobromine and caffeine, alkaloids which stimulate the central nervous system.

Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Malvales
Family: Malvaceae
Genus: Theobroma
Species: T. cacao
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular

Sweet inga (Pithecellobium dulce)

Asem londo or blackbead or guamúchil or sweet inga or Inga javana (Pithecellobium dulce) are species of flowering plants in Fabaceae, have many branches, irregular canopy, always green, 10-15 m high, thorny stems, drought and dry soil resistant at altitude up to 1,500 m.

P. dulce has compound leaves, 4-10 cm panicle stems, 7.5 mm leaf stalks, asymmetrical ovate leaves with pointed to round edges, double pinnate bones, shiny dark green on the top surface, light green on the bottom surface, 1.5-3.5x1-2 cm and not hairy.


Greenish-white flowers in panicles containing 1520 items, fragrant and 12 cm long but appear shorter because of the circular, smooth hair and 1-2 cm long stems. The petals are tubular and 1.5 mm long, the crown is tubular and 3.5 mm long. White flower stalks.

Flowers produce green pods that turn pink and black when ripe and open to release pink or white aryl, sweet and edible. The pods are flat, curled and 1 cm wide. Aryl contains asymmetrical flat seeds, shiny black, 9x7…
1 comment
Read more

Soursop (Annona muricata)

Sirsak or soursop (Annona muricata) is a plant species in Annonaceae, a small tree, growing upright to a height of 10 m, stem diameter of 10-30 cm and young branches are hairy, evergreen, edible fruit and have a sour or sweet taste to some varieties.

A. muricata has long to oval leaves, 8-16 cm long and 3-7 cm wide, dark green and shiny without hair on the upper side, paler and hairless on the lower side. Petiole has a length of 4-13 mm and without hair.


The flower stalks are 2-5 mm long and woody, appear opposite to the leaves or in addition to near the petioles, each with one or two flowers each. The stems of each flower are woody, smooth or hairless and 15-20 mm long with small bractlets closer to the base of thick hairy.

The outer petals are thick and yellowish, meet at the edges without overlapping and are broadly ovoid, 2.8-3.3 cm with 2.1-2.5 cm, tapering to a point with a heart-shaped base, thick and covered with long hair, sleek, externally soft and silky tangle with soft hair…
Post a Comment
Read more

Pucung (Dysdercus poecilus)

Pucung or cotton stainer or red cotton bugs (Dysdercus poecilus) are animal species in Pyrrhocoridae, winged insects, dimorphism for sex where women have larger size but are the same for shape and color as males, social life in large communities in host plants.

D. poecilus has three pairs of long black legs with three segments and a pair of very long black antennas with four segments on the head on the left and right. The head is dark red, a pair of black eyes and a narrow neck with white and black transverse lines.


Dorsal has red and black colors. The upper back has a black equilateral triangle with a pointed angle downwards. The middle back has a black transverse line and is connected by a long black triangle to the tip of the rounded buttocks.

Ventral has a black color with white and alternating stripes. The six thighs are dark red and the buttocks are pink. Males are smaller in size and have fewer ventral lines.

Pucung lives in a large community and is willing to share a place with…
Post a Comment
Read more

Twoleaf nightshade (Solanum diphyllum)

Twoleaf nightshade (Solanum diphyllum) is a species of plants in Solanaceae, upright shrubs grow in shade, 1-2 m tall, rounded stems, dense, green-purple brown, short hairy, stopping cells, cornered young twigs and widely cultivated as plants decorate with bright yellow ripe fruit.

S. diphyllum has leaves that are alternating, solitary or paired in twigs with generative organs. Some are stemmed for 1-1.5 cm. The leaves are oval to oblique round eggs, dynamic base, flat or wavy edges, tapered or rounded edges, 1-14.5 cm long, 0.5-4 cm wide and have short hair.


Flowers facing leaves 5-25 mm long. Has a 2 mm handle, brownish purple, straight and unbranched. Hook 5-10 mm, greenish to brown and curved. The petals have five ears, resembling kupula, pale green, 1-5 mm long and short haired.

Flowers have five crowns, coincide, star-shaped, yellowish white, 2-5 mm long. Has five stamens, free and facing the crown. Short and yellowish green pistil. The stigma is yellow, attached to the base and …
Post a Comment
Read more

Mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana)

Manggis or mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana) is a tropical plant species in Clusiaceae, up to 25 m tall, thick exocarp, bright green and turns reddish purple after ripe with 1-2 large seeds and edible white mesocarp layers.

G. mangostana produces sweet, pungent, watery, slightly fibrous fruits with vesicles filled with liquid, mesocarp surrounding each almond-shaped and large-sized seeds. The resulting bundle seeds are basically asexual embryos.


Mangosteen is obligate apomixis where seeds do not originate from fertilization and are thought to have a narrow genetic diversity, It is estimated that only one clone in nature and has the same properties as its parent. Diversity may be due to environmental and genetic factors due to natural mutations in line with the history of the mangosteen.

Young fruit does not require fertilization to grow, pale green or white under the canopy. The fruit enlarges for 2 to 3 months and then turns dark green with growth in size increasing in diameter from 6-…
Post a Comment
Read more