Variability of production out of fruits of Shea trees

Abstract

Vitellaria paradoxa, generally known under the name of shea tree is an endemic fruit tree of sudanese zone of Africa. This tree provides to local populations, tasty fruits, medical products, wood resisting and especially butter, the shea butter, universally known. The activities of research concentrated on the lightening of the constraints of treatment of butter. Thus, in spite of its many uses and its economic importance, the shea tree remains still an entirely wild resource. Its production out of fruits is irregular from one year to another. The irregularity of the production out of fruits makes difficult the industrial exploitation of the plant. The causes of this interannual variability of the production out of fruits were not explained yet. The present study, carried out in the North of Côte d'Ivoire, is an attempt at explanation of the interannual variability of the production out of fruits of the species. It made it possible to highlight, of trees with good regular production beside others with irregular production. The presence of producing good trees in the settlements of shea tree shows that the genetic improvement of the species is possible.