Cacao agroforestry model with fine tropical woods

Cacao agroforestry model with fine tropical woods

Thematic area:
Integrated management of the productive system
Productive system:
Cacao

Cacao agroforestry model with fine tropical woods

Description

The special cacao planting model with fine tropical woods includes an agroforestry system integrating more than one cultivable species in the same area. In this case, the permanent shading (Abarco) is integrated, which is established in barriers of double lines separated sixteen meters from each other to allow the establishment of five furrows or cacao lines.

It provides productive, sanitary, environmental, and economic benefits. It improves cash flow while the cacao crop begins its productive phase through transitory species, and in the long term, there is a benefit from the wood produced by the forestry component.

Regulates the flowering, pollination, and maturation of the fruits and, consequently, the harvests.
Regulates soil moisture, increases the absorption and infiltration capacity, and reduces evaporation.
Increases humus and the availability of nutrients for cacao due to the biomass provided by each species involved in the system.
Extends the useful life of the cacao plantation, mitigating stress situations (drought, frost, hailstorms, etc.).
Reduces physiological disorders in cacao fruits caused by different types of stress and maintains the physicochemical and sensory characteristics of the cocoa bean typical of its genetics.
Preserves the soil by reducing the incidence of solar radiation and the erosive action of raindrops.
Reduces losses caused by diseases, especially Monilia, and facilitates their integrated control.
There is a better use of solar energy through the geographical orientation of planting so that all species benefit.
Facilitates the establishment of multi-stratum cultivation systems, allowing better use of energy and the land itself.
Facilitates the benefit of permanent shadows.

The agroforestry model was evaluated in altitudinal ranges between 200 and 1,000 meters above sea level, where its behavior was similar regardless of the location where it was established, so it is recommended for the departments of Bolívar, Boyacá, Norte de Santander, and Santander.