For a cacao plant to bear such rich fruit, it needs effective pollination. A research group, in which JMU was involved, has investigated how this can best be achieved. (Image: Justine Vansynghel / Uni Würzburg)
For a cacao plant to bear such rich fruit, it needs effective pollination. A research group, in which JMU was involved, has investigated how this can best be achieved. (Image: Justine Vansynghel / Uni Würzburg) How can the cultivation of cacao be improved by using the right pollination technique? This has now been investigated by a research team including Ingolf Steffan-Dewenter's Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology. The success of cacao cultivation depends to a large extent on functioning pollination. If there is a lack of pollinators, for example, this leads to lower yields - and thus to financial problems for farmers. A study involving the University of Würzburg (JMU) has now investigated how the yield and quality of organic cacao can be increased - through a more efficient plantation design that's taking ecological aspects into account. During field research in Peru, the researchers identified pollination techniques that improved pollination success and produced higher quality fruit.
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