Fine-flavour cacao: high yields and income for smallholder farmers

Plantations of native fine-flavour cacao in countries like Peru have become rare due to the dominance of high-yielding cacao varieties for mass production. This threatens the valuable native cacao crop’s genetic diversity. An international research team, led by the University of Göttingen and Bioversity International, studied the use of selected genotypes of the native variety “Blanco de Piura”, known by local farmers for their high productivity, for grafting fully grown cacao trees. The researchers found that grafted trees yielded 59% more than non-grafted controls after three years. They also quantified the contribution of management practices, as well as plantation designs using either one or multiple clones of the native cacao variety. Results were published in the journal Agronomy for Sustainable Development.

 

The researchers grafted different “genotypes”, meaning variants within the same Blanco de Piura variety onto more than 2,000 trees in 12 plantations in Peru. Blanco de Piura cacao trees are native to northwestern Peru, prized for the fine aroma of the chocolate produced from their beans, but traditionally thought to have low productivity. Researchers found that grafting highly-productive types of this cacao variety into grown cacao trees increased crop yields to levels comparable with those from commercial clones, such as the widely used CCN-51 variety. “This is great news for cacao producers in South America, who often consider replacing their native trees with trees that produce cacao in bulk, sacrificing the income benefits associated with fine flavour which commands a higher price,” says co-author Dr Evert Thomas, Senior Scientist at Bioversity International in Peru.

 

Their results also showed that genetically diverse cacao farms are mostly beneficial for smallholder farmers who do not have the capacity to regularly visit and manage their farms, but still fully rely on their farms’ income. In contrast, smallholders who manage their farm regularly by pruning and removal of infested pods benefit from growing genetically similar cacao with only one genotype. In addition, the research team was surprised to find that the locally-selected genotypes were self-pollinating, meaning that their cacao flowers can successfully pollinate each other to produce fruits. This debunks another usual myth about the compatibility of native cacao and explains the unexpected success of farms with only one genotype. “This detailed understanding of native cacao’s production and especially the trade-offs with farm management will be an essential tool for farmers of fine flavour cacao to design their farms for maximum productivity and successful conservation of the crop’s genetic diversity”, says Dr Carolina Ocampo-Ariza who led the study at Göttingen University.

 

“For centuries, native cacao varieties have held a great cultural relevance in Peru, an important producer of cacao, which makes the identification of best national varieties, management strategies and plantation designs particularly valuable,” emphasizes co-author Professor Teja Tscharntke from the Agroecology and Functional Agrobiodiversity Group at the University of Göttingen.

 

A full version of the manuscript translated to Spanish is available at: 

 

Original publication: Ocampo-Ariza C. et al (2026) “Selected native genotypes, plantation design and management intensity boost fine flavor cacao productivity”. Agronomy for Sustainable Development 

 

Contact:

Dr Carolina Ocampo-Ariza

University of Göttingen

Department of Agricultural Ecology and Functional Agrobiodiversity

Grisebachstraße 6, 37077 Göttingen, Germany

Email: carocampoa@gmail.com  

uni-goettingen.de/en/74726.html

 

Professor Teja Tscharntke

University of Göttingen

Department of Agricultural Ecology and Functional Agrobiodiversity

Grisebachstraße 6, 37077 Göttingen, Germany

Email: ttschar@gwdg.de  

uni-goettingen.de/en/74726.html

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