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Experiment started in Tabuleiro de Russas evaluated clones, irrigation, and technical management to cultivate cocoa in the semi-arid region of Ceará, transforming local beans into chocolate and recording a rare contrast between tropical fruit, agricultural research, and the sertão.
Usually associated with the humid areas of Bahia and the Amazon, cocoa was experimentally cultivated in the semi-arid region of Ceará, in an irrigated area of Tabuleiro de Russas, where heat and low natural water availability usually limit more demanding crops.
Started in 2010, the project brought together selected clones, drip and micro-sprinkler irrigation systems, and technical management to assess whether the cocoa tree could produce under conditions different from those found in the more traditional Brazilian regions for the fruit.
The experiment took place in the Irrigated Perimeter Tabuleiro de Russas, in Ceará, in an area of four hectares cultivated with cocoa trees, within a proposal aimed at generating and disseminating technologies for the irrigated cultivation of the species.
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According to the Ceará State Development Agency, the evaluation monitored different genetic materials in a semi-arid environment, focusing on adaptation, fruiting, water management, and technical production performance.
One of the most curious results appeared after beans produced in the experiment were fermented, dried, and sent to Ceplac, in Bahia, for chemical analyses, sensory evaluations, and processing.
Recorded in a technical manual published in 2017, the processing of approximately 60 kilograms of fermented and dried beans resulted in 45 kilograms of chocolate produced with cocoa cultivated in Ceará.
Cocoa in the semi-arid region of Ceará
The experience draws attention because the cocoa tree is usually related to humid environments, with shading, specific soil characteristics, and a relatively regular supply of water during the production cycle.
In Tabuleiro de Russas, however, the cultivation followed a different logic, supported by planned irrigation, technical monitoring, and field evaluation of clones to identify which materials showed the most suitable responses to local conditions.
Implemented on a farm located in the irrigated perimeter, the experimental area was part of an agricultural diversification project in the interior of Ceará, aimed at testing productive alternatives in regions served by water infrastructure.
The work included technical participation from institutions such as Ceplac, Univale, Embrapa Semiárido, Banco do Nordeste, and Sebrae-CE, gathered to evaluate new cultivation possibilities in irrigated areas of the state.
More than an agricultural curiosity, the research addressed area preparation, planting, irrigation, pruning, shading, harvesting, fermentation, and drying of the beans, stages described in the technical document prepared after six years of experimentation.
These precautions were decisive because the value of cocoa does not depend only on the fruit harvested in the field, but also on the quality of the processing carried out after harvest.
Experiment began in 2010 in Tabuleiro de Russas
The plan to evaluate the cocoa tree in the semi-arid region began to be structured in 2009, when representatives of the Union of Agribusinesses in the Jaguaribe Valley sought technical support from Ceplac to study the behavior of the crop in that environment.
The following year, a technical cooperation agreement between Ceplac and Univale allowed the research to be implemented in an area of the Frutacor company, linking the initiative to a program of evaluating agricultural alternatives for the interior of Ceará.
The seedlings were planted where a banana plantation with four years of cultivation already existed, initially used as temporary shade to protect the cocoa trees during the establishment phase in the field.
In addition to reducing direct sun exposure, the presence of the banana trees allowed the use of an already installed irrigation infrastructure, while spondias were added to the system to provide permanent shading and improve the thermal comfort of the plants.
A field day held in August 2013 brought together 120 participants at the Frutacor facilities and presented the first results of the cultivation, including necessary adjustments to synchronize production, rains, fruit filling, and harvesting.
Drip and Micro-sprinkler Irrigation
The choice of Tabuleiro de Russas was linked to the presence of an irrigated area with a history of fruit growing and agricultural production supported by water infrastructure, an indispensable condition for conducting the test in a semi-arid environment.
Instead of relying exclusively on rain, the experiment used controlled irrigation systems, allowing the monitoring of cocoa tree development in a region whose natural water availability would not regularly meet the crop’s requirements.
Among the methods evaluated were drip and micro-sprinkler irrigation, two ways of distributing water intended to maintain the necessary moisture for the plants and, at the same time, analyze differences in the development of the clones.
While drip irrigation delivered water locally to the area near the roots, micro-sprinkler irrigation reached a wider area around the plants, creating distinct moisture conditions in the soil.
This comparison had technical importance because the cacao tree requires water, but the performance of the crop also depends on the distribution of moisture, soil temperature, root formation, and the management adopted.
During the monitoring, researchers observed adaptation, growth, fruiting, and almond production, comparing the behavior of genetic materials in the two installed irrigation systems.
The results gathered by Adece indicated that the clones Cepec 2002 and Cepec 2004 showed greater fruiting in the drip system, while CCN-51 achieved experimental productivity of over two tons of dry almonds per hectare in the fifth year.
These data belong to the experiment started in 2010 and do not represent a general cultivation recommendation, as the technical manual itself recorded that adjustments were still needed before large-scale adoption in Ceará.
Selected clones and cacao tree management
Another relevant component was shading, as excessive sun exposure in regions of intense heat can cause stress in plants, fruit burn, and changes in vegetative development.
For this reason, cultivation required attention to the environment formed around the cacao trees, including a balance between light, temperature, humidity, ventilation, and protection against strong winds during the different phases of the crop.
Windbreaks were also installed because the combination of intense winds and water deficit can limit plant growth, reduce fruit quality, and increase moisture loss in the cultivated area.
Among the materials evaluated were CP 49, PS 13.19, PH 16, Cepec 2002, and CCN-51, selected for characteristics such as productivity, precocity, size, seed weight, and disease resistance.
The analysis of the clones showed that the results varied according to the genetic material and the irrigation system, reinforcing the need to combine seedling choice, water availability, shading, and technical management.
Ceará almonds became chocolate in 2015
The transformation of the almonds into chocolate occurred after the harvest, fermentation, and drying of the material produced in the experiment, concluding a journey that began with the planting of cacao trees in the semi-arid region of Ceará.
In December 2015, according to the Adece activity report, the almonds sent to Ceplac were processed and evaluated, resulting in the product presented by the institution as the first chocolate made entirely with cocoa cultivated in Ceará.
The samples were distributed among funding agents and participating institutions for tasting and dissemination, giving visibility to the result obtained in the experimental area of the Tabuleiro de Russas Irrigated Perimeter.
On this journey, cocoa transitioned from being merely a crop observed in the field to a processed product, after undergoing harvesting, fermentation, drying, evaluation, and chocolate manufacturing.
The experience also included a broader discussion on agricultural diversification in irrigated areas of the Northeast, often associated with crops like melon, watermelon, banana, mango, and grape.
By evaluating cocoa and other species in observation units, the project aimed to expand technical knowledge about crops capable of producing under specific conditions, provided they are accompanied by irrigation, research, and proper management.
Research did not authorize planting in any dry area
Adece’s documents treated the results as experimental and emphasized the need for further studies, especially on economic viability, water consumption, biochemical quality of the beans, and long-term behavior of the clones.
The experience did not demonstrate that cocoa could be cultivated in any dry region, as its implementation depended on irrigation infrastructure, soil analysis, suitable genetic material, shading, technical assistance, and post-harvest structure.
Without these factors, a demanding crop like cocoa would face greater barriers in low-humidity areas, especially where there was no available water and authorization for the use of water resources.
The manual also recorded technical difficulties observed in the field, such as seed germination inside the fruits, sunburns caused by exposure to the sun, and the need for adjustments in the amount of water supplied to the plants.
At the same time, researchers pointed out that the climatic conditions of the semi-arid were unfavorable for the proliferation of witches’ broom, a disease responsible for significant losses in traditional cocoa areas in southern Bahia.
This contrast helped explain the technical interest in the Tabuleiro de Russas: although the region presented limitations of water and temperature, it could reduce the pressure of certain diseases when cultivation was conducted under controlled conditions.
In the economic field, cocoa attracted attention for allowing the production of higher value-added products, especially when the beans had quality compatible with differentiated chocolates.
The transformation of 60 kilos of beans into 45 kilos of chocolate became the most visible result of research initiated in 2010, processed in 2015, and technically documented in the following years.
The visual impact of the case also weighed in, as a fruit linked to the imagery of humid forests appeared cultivated in the semi-arid, surrounded by irrigation systems, shade plants, and genetic materials evaluated by researchers.
For agricultural research, the central point was the behavior of cocoa trees under controlled conditions; for the public, curiosity arose upon discovering that beans harvested in the Ceará hinterland reached the form of chocolate.
Did you imagine that an experiment started in the semi-arid region of Ceará could produce cocoa beans and transform them into chocolate?
