Weed control constitutes a high percentage of the total field maintenance cost of newly planted cocoa. Soil samples were collected from an experiment that was designed to evaluate some weed control methods during cocoa establishment. The objective of the experiment was to assess the effect of the weed control methods on microbial biomass and extractable N and P contents of the cocoa-growing soil during cocoa establishment. The
weed control treatments were clean weeding, two times per year; clean weeding, three times per year; clean weeding, four times per year (recommended practice); high slashing, four times per year; clean weeding (1 m wide), three times per year plus Mucuna pruriens cover crop; clean weeding, three times per year plus Flemingia congesta mulch; Gramoxone 1.5 l ha-1, four times per year; and Roundup 1.5 l ha-1, three times per year arranged
in a randomized complete block design. Microbial biomass N content ranged from 10.8 to 42.5 mg N kg–1 soil. Microbial biomass N was significantly higher (P