PRUNING- The basic aim of pruning cocoa trees is to encourage a tree structure that allows sunlight to filter through to the main branches and trunk to stimulate flowering and facilitate harvesting. Pruning generally takes place twice a year. The first pruning is done after the main harvest (from April to July) and just before the rainy season, and the second pruning five months later, during the months of November and December.

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- It maximizes the nutrient distribution towards pods. By cutting away new and unproductive chupons on mature trees, the pod size will be increased.
- Thinning causes more light to filter to the centre of the tree, and more air circulation, whereby Black Pod disease can be reduced.