After the choice of fertilizer to use and the methods and areas of fertilizer application, it is still necessary to schedule application time to take into account the crop nutrient requirements. The following factors must be considered when trying to schedule the time of fertilizer application: peak cropping period, competition from weeds, rainfall pattern and soil factors such as topography and susceptibility to erosion. The major reason why you need to put all these into consideration is to ensure maximum nutrient uptake for maximum growth and yield by the plant.
However, it is often recommended that fertilizer application should be carried out during the rainy season. Fertilizer application should be done twice in a year, April and September. In April, it is believed that the rainfall would have become steady.
Furthermore, different soils have different fertilizer needs, for this reason, the fertilizer requirement for a loamy soil is different from Sandy soil. If the soil particle size analysis of your soil indicates that the soil is a sandy soil, I will advise you to use a compound fertilizer that contains Nitrogen, Phosphoric acid and potash fertilizer formula 13:10:15. The quantities to apply for each tree is as follows: during the first 2 years; in April: 125 grams are required per tree while in September, 125grams is also required.
During the third year and above, it is necessary to increase the nutritional requirement. In April and September, it is strongly recommended that we use 250grams of fertilizer per tree.
Note: this rate is for a sandy soil.
Thanks for your tips on fertilizing cocoa tree in a Sandy soil and the quantity suggested. But you say anything on loamy soil. I think your readers should have that too at their finger tips.