Challenges in Cocoa Pollination: The Case of Côte d’Ivoire

Abstract

Cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) is mainly pollinated by ceratopogonid midges (Forcipomyia spp.). However, other insect species will also pollinate cocoa flowers when these midges are scarce. In Côte d'Ivoire, inadequate pest control practices (insecticide spraying, mostly against the mirids Distantiella theobromae and Sahlbergella singularis) and landscape degradation as a result of deforestation and cocoa monoculture, have decreased overall pollinator population levels and, as a result, pollination services to cocoa trees. The current low average Ivorian cocoa yield of 538 kg per ha (in 2016) is the result of global agricultural mismanagement (deteriorated soils, lack of fertilizers, inadequate or absent pest control, absence of shade trees and intercrops). However, there is also an evidence of a pollination gap that could cause low cocoa yield. More research is needed to understand: (i) which agro-ecological efforts to enhance cocoa pollination can improve yield, and (ii) which strategies are effective in enhancing cocoa pollination. In this chapter, we briefly describe the cocoa sector. Next, the cocoa flower and pollinator biology and phenology are presented, followed by an overview of current environmental and management constraints to cocoa pollination in the context of Côte d'Ivoire, the largest cocoa producer in the world. We conclude with exploring possibilities to enhance pollination in the Ivorian small-scale cocoa sector.

Evaluation of cocoa mirid (Distantiella theobroma Dist. and Sahlbergella singularis Hagl.) control practices in Cte dIvoire

“…mirids are particularly harmful (and usually lethal) to cocoa cherelles (Anikwe and Otuonye, 2015; Wheeler, 2001), trees where lower cherelle numbers were recorded, were probably more affected by mirids than other trees. It is, however, also possible that differences in cherelle numbers are caused by differences in cocoa genotypes, soil nutrition or pollinator abundance between the studied cocoa farms, which will cause differences in physiological cherelle wilt, a natural fruit thinning mechanism in cocoa (Valle et al, 1990;Claus et al, 2017).…”

A Review of the Trade-Offs across Different Cocoa Production Systems in Ghana

“…This factor is influenced by the variation in the richness and abundance of pollinators in the cocoa fields. Thus, pollination is expected to be higher within the shaded cocoa systems compared to the monoculture systems since insect and pollinator biodiversity is higher within agroforestry systems and forest systems [41]. Additionally, a study in Ghana by [42] showed that the cocoa intercrop could enhance cocoa pollination.…”

Insect pollination and sustainable agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa

“…Yield gaps effectively estimate the potential to improve crop yields by optimizing the pollination environment. In Ivory Coast, yield loss in cocoa production was often attributed to disease, pests, and low soil fertility, but there is increasing evidence that inadequate pollination provision of cocoa has also played a significant role (Claus et al 2018). Despite the availability of effective agronomic management practices to increase cocoa production, the benefits gained from pollination services are not commonly considered at the local level (Toledo-Hernández et al 2017).…”