Shade tree pruning effects on flowering and cacao yields in different cropping systems in a long-term trial in Bolivia
Light access is the primary factor affecting yields in cacao-based agroforestry systems (CAFS). While CAFS ecosystem services provision is extensively documented, research on improving light access in CAFS remains scarce. Shade canopy pruning, a developing technique in Latin America, is part of the...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Artículo |
| Language: | Inglés |
| Published: |
Cambridge University Press
2025
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://repositorio.catie.ac.cr/handle/11554/13606 |
| _version_ | 1855489783258677248 |
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| author | Saj, Stéphane Somarriba, Eduardo Schneidewind, Ulf Milz, Joachim Cotter, Marc Schneider, Monika |
| author_browse | Cotter, Marc Milz, Joachim Saj, Stéphane Schneider, Monika Schneidewind, Ulf Somarriba, Eduardo |
| author_facet | Saj, Stéphane Somarriba, Eduardo Schneidewind, Ulf Milz, Joachim Cotter, Marc Schneider, Monika |
| author_sort | Saj, Stéphane |
| collection | Repositorio CATIE |
| description | Light access is the primary factor affecting yields in cacao-based agroforestry systems (CAFS). While CAFS ecosystem services provision is extensively documented, research on improving light access in CAFS remains scarce. Shade canopy pruning, a developing technique in Latin America, is part of the long-term SysCom Bolivia trial. It is undertaken twice a year, at the start of the rainy and dry seasons. This paper presents the results of a 5-year study on the relationship between CAFS canopy cover, flowering levels, cocoa yields, and pruning events from this trial. The seasonality and peak periods of flowering and pod production were independent from the cropping system, underlining both climatic- and genetically determined production patterns. Yet, flowering levels depended on canopy cover levels during the rainy season, which translated into different pod production levels in the following months. Average annual yields were 1300 kg ha-1 for full sun cacao, 780 kg ha-1 for agroforestry systems (AF), and 640 kg ha-1 for dynamic agroforestry systems (DAF), with rainy season canopy covers maintained at 25–35% for AF and 40–60% for DAF. The relationships between canopy cover, flowering, and cocoa yield were found to be exponential, indicating that the lower the canopy cover, the greater the yield increase could be expected from pruning. The lower levels of cover obtained in AF after the ‘flowering’ pruning triggered better flowering levels in comparison to DAF. However, these did not systematically translate into significantly higher yields, underlining the probable significance of the ‘ripening pruning’ for DAF’s cocoa yield. Overall, our results show (i) the great potential of timely shade canopy pruning and (ii) the need to adapt such a technique to systems’ diversity and density to make it cost/labour-effective and support its scalability. |
| format | Artículo |
| id | RepoCATIE13606 |
| institution | Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| publisherStr | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | RepoCATIE136062025-08-13T23:25:16Z Shade tree pruning effects on flowering and cacao yields in different cropping systems in a long-term trial in Bolivia Saj, Stéphane Somarriba, Eduardo Schneidewind, Ulf Milz, Joachim Cotter, Marc Schneider, Monika Agroforesteria||agroforestry||agrosilvicultura||agroforesterie Cubierta de copas||canopy||coberto arbóreo ou arbustivo||couvert Poda||pruning||poda||taille Bolivia (Estado Plurinacional de)||Bolivia (Plurinational State of)||Bolívia||Bolivie (État plurinational de) Sede Central ODS 15 - Vida de ecosistemas terrestres Light access is the primary factor affecting yields in cacao-based agroforestry systems (CAFS). While CAFS ecosystem services provision is extensively documented, research on improving light access in CAFS remains scarce. Shade canopy pruning, a developing technique in Latin America, is part of the long-term SysCom Bolivia trial. It is undertaken twice a year, at the start of the rainy and dry seasons. This paper presents the results of a 5-year study on the relationship between CAFS canopy cover, flowering levels, cocoa yields, and pruning events from this trial. The seasonality and peak periods of flowering and pod production were independent from the cropping system, underlining both climatic- and genetically determined production patterns. Yet, flowering levels depended on canopy cover levels during the rainy season, which translated into different pod production levels in the following months. Average annual yields were 1300 kg ha-1 for full sun cacao, 780 kg ha-1 for agroforestry systems (AF), and 640 kg ha-1 for dynamic agroforestry systems (DAF), with rainy season canopy covers maintained at 25–35% for AF and 40–60% for DAF. The relationships between canopy cover, flowering, and cocoa yield were found to be exponential, indicating that the lower the canopy cover, the greater the yield increase could be expected from pruning. The lower levels of cover obtained in AF after the ‘flowering’ pruning triggered better flowering levels in comparison to DAF. However, these did not systematically translate into significantly higher yields, underlining the probable significance of the ‘ripening pruning’ for DAF’s cocoa yield. Overall, our results show (i) the great potential of timely shade canopy pruning and (ii) the need to adapt such a technique to systems’ diversity and density to make it cost/labour-effective and support its scalability. 2025-08-12T13:58:57Z 2025-08-12T13:58:57Z 2025 Artículo https://repositorio.catie.ac.cr/handle/11554/13606 openAccess en Experimental Agriculture https://doi.org/10.1017/S0014479725100124 22 páginas application/pdf Cambridge University Press |
| spellingShingle | Agroforesteria||agroforestry||agrosilvicultura||agroforesterie Cubierta de copas||canopy||coberto arbóreo ou arbustivo||couvert Poda||pruning||poda||taille Bolivia (Estado Plurinacional de)||Bolivia (Plurinational State of)||Bolívia||Bolivie (État plurinational de) Sede Central ODS 15 - Vida de ecosistemas terrestres Saj, Stéphane Somarriba, Eduardo Schneidewind, Ulf Milz, Joachim Cotter, Marc Schneider, Monika Shade tree pruning effects on flowering and cacao yields in different cropping systems in a long-term trial in Bolivia |
| title | Shade tree pruning effects on flowering and cacao yields in different cropping systems in a long-term trial in Bolivia |
| title_full | Shade tree pruning effects on flowering and cacao yields in different cropping systems in a long-term trial in Bolivia |
| title_fullStr | Shade tree pruning effects on flowering and cacao yields in different cropping systems in a long-term trial in Bolivia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Shade tree pruning effects on flowering and cacao yields in different cropping systems in a long-term trial in Bolivia |
| title_short | Shade tree pruning effects on flowering and cacao yields in different cropping systems in a long-term trial in Bolivia |
| title_sort | shade tree pruning effects on flowering and cacao yields in different cropping systems in a long term trial in bolivia |
| topic | Agroforesteria||agroforestry||agrosilvicultura||agroforesterie Cubierta de copas||canopy||coberto arbóreo ou arbustivo||couvert Poda||pruning||poda||taille Bolivia (Estado Plurinacional de)||Bolivia (Plurinational State of)||Bolívia||Bolivie (État plurinational de) Sede Central ODS 15 - Vida de ecosistemas terrestres |
| url | https://repositorio.catie.ac.cr/handle/11554/13606 |
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