Light rains and cool, overcast weather last week in most of Ivory Coast's cocoa-growing regions raised concerns about the forthcoming October-to-March main crop, farmers said on Monday. Flowers and cherelles need strong sunny spells at this crucial period to strengthen the development of the crop but soil moisture content across the world's top cocoa producer is too high, the farmers said.
"It is cool and overcast. This is not good weather for cocoa," said Salame Kone, who farms on the outskirts of the western town of Soubre, in the heart of the cocoa belt. "If we don't have enough sun by the end of next week, the flowers and cherelles will fall from the trees and reduce the size of the main crop," he said. Similar conditions were reported in the southern regions of Aboisso, Agboville and Divo; the western region of Gagnoa; and the coastal region of Sassandra. In the centre-western region of Daloa, which accounts for about a quarter of national output, farmers reported light scattered rains and weak sunny spells. "Many more flowers survived and grew into small pods compared to last season," said Albert N'Zue, who farms near Daloa. "We need a lot of sunshine. Otherwise we will see diseases appear on the farms next month." In the western region of Duekoue, farmers were more optimistic. "The cool weather has just begun but (things) are developing well. The trees are full of pods and we think we will have a large harvest in October," said Amare Kone, who farms near Duekoue.
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