Flowering levels, harvest season and yields of cupuassu (Theobroma grandiflorum)

• Autor(a) principal: Venturieri,Giorgini Augusto
• Data de Publicação: 2011
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Acta Amazonica
• Texto Completo: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0044-59672011000100017
• topic: effective pollinator; flower production; fruit set; irregular bearing

Cupuassu (Theobroma grandiflorum), a specie native to Amazonia, has been planted commercially in Brazil to satisfy the demand for the flavorful juice obtained from the pulp around its seeds. The trees are notorious for low and irregular fruit production. Data gathered over two seasons from trees in a germplasm collection in Pará, Brazil, showed that some of them fruited more regularly than others. Differences in fruit production correlated to differences in flower production. Tree-to-tree variation in flower production, fruit production, and consistency of both over time suggest considerable scope for improving yields by selection. Hand pollinations resulted in a much higher frequency of fruit set than open pollinations, indicating that lack of effective pollination is also a reason for low yield. However, attempts to increase the level of effective pollination are handicapped by low knowledge about the pollinators of cupuassu and their behavior.