Evaluation of cacao hybrids under two shade systems at CATIE, Costa Rica

Abstract

The cacao crop in Central America and the Caribbean Islands has been traditionally managed by farmers in different ways, using diverse sustainable ecological systems. Two shade systems: “poró” /erythrina poeppigiana) and “laurel” (Cordia alliodora) were compared to measure yield and other characteristics of cacao hybrids. After 15 years of collecting data on each shade system, one hybrid of cacao was evaluated for certain characteristics. There were significant differences between the studied shade systems were observed, “poró” system presented an increase of 49,5 Kg ha-1 on cacao yield when compared with the laurel system. These and other previously presented results suggests that the cacao-poró shade system is slightly more effective for increasing yield in cacao than the cacao-laurel system.