ABIDJAN, July 10 (Reuters) - A mix of above-average rain and sunshine in most of Ivory Coast's main cocoa regions last week bodes well for the October-to-March main crop, farmers said on Monday.
The world's top cocoa producer is in its rainy season, which runs from April to mid-November. Rains are often abundant and heavy during this time.
Several farmers said growing conditions had improved after excessive rainfall caused floods at the end of last month.
Sunny spells were helping cocoa trees to produce more flowers and cherelles, they said, expecting good harvests from late August or early September.
The sunshine will boost yields, bean size and quality of the main crop, they added, noting that it would also help to combat pests and diseases brought on by excessive soil moisture.
Rain was above average in the centre-western region of Daloa and the central regions of Bongouanou and Yamoussoukro. Farmers there said that plenty of trees were in flower and that the sun would help them to survive and boost main-crop harvests.
"We have rain and good sun. If this continues, trees will be loaded with fruit by mid-August," said Lazare N’Guessan, who farms near Daloa, where 55.8 millimetres (mm) of rain fell last week, 31.3 mm above the five-year average.
There was also above-average rainfall in the southern region of Agboville and in the eastern region of Abengourou, but rain was below average levels in the western region of Soubre and the southern region of Divo.
Many farmers in those areas also expected large volumes of beans to leave the bush from mid-August.
"There are good signs because the foliage is very green and many cherelles are starting to appear on trees," said Lucien Dasse, who farms near Soubre, where 22.8 mm fell last week, 12.4 mm below the average.
He added that soil moisture content was still sufficient.
Average temperatures ranged between 25.2 and 28.3 degrees Celsius in Ivory Coast last week. (Reporting by Loucoumane Coulibaly Editing by Sofia Christensen and David Goodman)
