The cacao trees mature at five years and begin to flower on the trunk. The flowers are pollinated by midges, a small fly.

It is thought that seedlings or seeds of the cocoa tree were carried north into Mexico and Central America, perhaps along sea routes. Cocoa beans became precious commodities, used as food and ...

The fruit of the cocoa tree is a pod full of sweet pulp enfolding a cluster of about 20 to 40 cocoa seeds. Cocoa takes about ... and harvesting regularly. The beans are then removed from the ...

But those raids had an unexpected benefit - cocoa seeds were spread all ... of four or five kilograms per tree per year," she says. India's production of cocoa beans has risen significantly.

Cacao fruits are grown on the Theobroma cacao tree. This long and curved fruit is primarily cultivated for its prized ...