Abstract
Abstract Overaged full-sun cacao plantations and the need for sustainable production systems call for combining rehabilitation of plantations with the establishment of agroforestry. We tested the effect of drastic rehabilitation pruning of old cacao tree stock and the introduction of both high- and low-diversity agroforestry on survival, growth and yield of T. cacao in a commercial plantation in peninsular Malaysia over a period of 5 years. We further determined the incidence of pests and diseases of cacao pods and assessed the performance of the whole system for smallholder farmers, including yields of by-crops. Rehabilitation pruning negatively affected cacao tree development and short-term yield. No more effects of pruning on cacao yield were observed starting in the third year on in the monoculture and starting in the fourth year on in low-diversity agroforestry. We found similar cacao tree development and yield in the low-diversity agroforestry and a common practice monoculture, suggesting that the implementation of agroforestry is a commercially feasible strategy, due to additional income generated through timber production. Reduced cacao tree development and yield in the high-diversity agroforestry were compensated by additional harvests of cassava and banana compared to monoculture. Incidence of cocoa pod borer ( Conopomorpha cramerella ) was lower in the agroforestry systems, especially the high-diversity system, while the incidence of black pod disease ( Phytophthora spp.) did not differ between agroforestry and monoculture. The findings highlight the potential of agroforestry to reconcile ecologically sustainable land use with natural, cost-effective pest management. While pruning needs to be done with timing and disease pressure in mind to minimize short-term yield losses, this measure proved to be a feasible strategy for establishing agroforestry on extant plantations.
Abstract from the paper’s OpenAlex record, shown for indexing and research. Copyright remains with the authors or the publisher. Read at the source ↗
The text the model read, with the source record’s inline markup (italics, sub- and superscripts) rendered and its character entities decoded; quote offsets refer to the raw text.
Claims 15
Claim · model-written summary
Rehabilitation pruning reduced cacao tree development.
- Taxon
- cacao
Theobroma cacaoe0 - Treatment
- Rehabilitation pruninge0
- Outcome
- cacao tree developmente0
- Direction
- negatively affectede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Rehabilitation pruning negatively affected cacao tree development and short-term yield.”
Claim · model-written summary
Rehabilitation pruning reduced short-term cacao yield.
- Taxon
- cacaoTheobroma cacaoe0
- Treatment
- Rehabilitation pruninge0
- Outcome
- short-term yielde0
- Direction
- negatively affectede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Rehabilitation pruning negatively affected cacao tree development and short-term yield.”
Claim · model-written summary
Pruning effects on monoculture cacao yield ceased from year three.
- Taxon
- cacaoTheobroma cacaoe0
- Outcome
- effects of pruning on cacao yielde0
- Direction
- No more effectse0
- Qualifier
- starting in the third yeare0
- Setting
- monoculturee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“No more effects of pruning on cacao yield were observed starting in the third year on in the monoculture and starting in the fourth year on in low-diversity agroforestry.”
Claim · model-written summary
Pruning effects on low-diversity agroforestry cacao yield ceased from year four.
- Taxon
- cacaoTheobroma cacaoe0
- Outcome
- effects of pruning on cacao yielde0
- Direction
- No more effectse0
- Qualifier
- starting in the fourth yeare0
- Setting
- low-diversity agroforestrye0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“No more effects of pruning on cacao yield were observed starting in the third year on in the monoculture and starting in the fourth year on in low-diversity agroforestry.”
Claim · model-written summary
Cacao tree development was similar under low-diversity agroforestry and monoculture.
- Taxon
- cacaoTheobroma cacaoe0
- Treatment
- low-diversity agroforestrye0
- Outcome
- cacao tree developmente0
- Direction
- similare0
- Comparator
- a common practice monoculturee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“We found similar cacao tree development and yield in the low-diversity agroforestry and a common practice monoculture, suggesting that the implementation of agroforestry is a commercially feasible strategy, due to additional income generated through timber production.”
Claim · model-written summary
Cacao yield was similar under low-diversity agroforestry and monoculture.
- Taxon
- cacaoTheobroma cacaoe0
- Treatment
- low-diversity agroforestrye0
- Outcome
- yielde0
- Direction
- similare0
- Comparator
- a common practice monoculturee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“We found similar cacao tree development and yield in the low-diversity agroforestry and a common practice monoculture, suggesting that the implementation of agroforestry is a commercially feasible strategy, due to additional income generated through timber production.”
Claim · model-written summary
Timber production provided additional income in agroforestry.
- Taxon
- cacaoTheobroma cacaoe4
- Outcome
- additional income generated through timber productione0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“due to additional income generated through timber production”
e4“Rehabilitation pruning negatively affected cacao tree development and short-term yield.”
Claim · model-written summary
High-diversity agroforestry reduced cacao tree development.
- Taxon
- cacaoTheobroma cacaoe0
- Treatment
- high-diversity agroforestrye0
- Outcome
- cacao tree developmente0
- Direction
- Reducede0
- Comparator
- monoculturee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Reduced cacao tree development and yield in the high-diversity agroforestry were compensated by additional harvests of cassava and banana compared to monoculture.”
Claim · model-written summary
High-diversity agroforestry reduced cacao yield.
- Taxon
- cacaoTheobroma cacaoe0
- Treatment
- high-diversity agroforestrye0
- Outcome
- yielde0
- Direction
- Reducede0
- Comparator
- monoculturee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Reduced cacao tree development and yield in the high-diversity agroforestry were compensated by additional harvests of cassava and banana compared to monoculture.”
Claim · model-written summary
High-diversity agroforestry yielded additional cassava harvests.
- Taxon
- cassava
Manihot esculentae0 - Treatment
- high-diversity agroforestrye0
- Outcome
- additional harvests of cassavae0
- Direction
- additionale0
- Comparator
- monoculturee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Reduced cacao tree development and yield in the high-diversity agroforestry were compensated by additional harvests of cassava and banana compared to monoculture.”
Claim · model-written summary
High-diversity agroforestry yielded additional banana harvests.
Verbatim
e0“Reduced cacao tree development and yield in the high-diversity agroforestry were compensated by additional harvests of cassava and banana compared to monoculture.”
Claim · model-written summary
Agroforestry reduced cocoa pod borer incidence, especially with high diversity.
- Taxon
- cacaoTheobroma cacaot0
- Treatment
- agroforestry systemse0
- Interactor
- Conopomorpha cramerella
_1412164.jpg?width=60)
Conopomorpha cramerellae0pest - Outcome
- Incidence of cocoa pod borere0
- Direction
- lowere0
- Qualifier
- especially the high-diversity systeme0
- Comparator
- monoculturee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
_1412164.jpg?width=500)
Verbatim
e0“Incidence of cocoa pod borer ( Conopomorpha cramerella ) was lower in the agroforestry systems, especially the high-diversity system, while the incidence of black pod disease ( Phytophthora spp.) did not differ between agroforestry and monoculture.”
t0“cacao”
Claim · model-written summary
Black pod disease incidence did not differ between agroforestry and monoculture.
- Taxon
- cacaoTheobroma cacaot0
- Treatment
- agroforestrye0
- Interactor
- Phytophthora spp.
Phytophthorae0pathogen - Outcome
- incidence of black pod diseasee0
- Direction
- did not differe0
- Comparator
- monoculturee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Incidence of cocoa pod borer ( Conopomorpha cramerella ) was lower in the agroforestry systems, especially the high-diversity system, while the incidence of black pod disease ( Phytophthora spp.) did not differ between agroforestry and monoculture.”
t0“cacao”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors consider agroforestry commercially feasible because of timber income.
- Taxon
- cacaoTheobroma cacaot0
- Outcome
- implementation of agroforestry is a commercially feasible strategye0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“suggesting that the implementation of agroforestry is a commercially feasible strategy, due to additional income generated through timber production.”
t0“cacao”
Claim · model-written summary
Pruning timing and disease pressure should be considered to limit short-term yield losses.
- Taxon
- cacaoTheobroma cacaot0
- Outcome
- pruning needs to be done with timing and disease pressure in minde0
- Qualifier
- to minimize short-term yield lossese0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“While pruning needs to be done with timing and disease pressure in mind to minimize short-term yield losses, this measure proved to be a feasible strategy for establishing agroforestry on extant plantations.”
t0“cacao”
The same questions in other papers
intercropping · organism · Manihot esculenta (cassava)Positive and negative results
3 papers in the same direction as this paper · 1 in the opposite direction
- negative
- positive
- positive
1 paper more in this group
See all 5 papers →intercropping · growth · Theobroma cacao (cocoa)Positive and negative results
3 papers in the same direction as this paper · 2 in the opposite direction
- positive
- positive
- negative
2 papers more in this group
See all 6 papers →pruning · growth · Theobroma cacao (cocoa)Positive and negative results
1 paper in the same direction as this paper · 6 in the opposite direction
- positive
- positive
- positive
4 papers more in this group
See all 8 papers →intercropping · yield · Theobroma cacao (cocoa)Positive and negative results
2 papers in the same direction as this paper · 8 in the opposite direction
- positive
- positive
- positive
7 papers more in this group
See all 11 papers →pruning · yield · Theobroma cacao (cocoa)Positive and negative results
1 paper in the same direction as this paper · 11 in the opposite direction
- positive
- positive
- positive
9 papers more in this group
See all 13 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.