The study was published in the journal Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment.
A research team from the University of Göttingen, Germany has recently investigated the relative importance of the use of pesticides, fertilizers and manual pollination in a well-replicated field trial in Indonesian agroforestry systems. The results showed an increase in both cocoa yield and farming income; not by agrochemicals, but by manual pollination. The study was published in the journal Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment.
Cocoa requires cross-pollination by insects to produce fruit. It is unclear how to encourage natural pollination by tiny midges, flies or wasps: The true identity of the main pollinators has yet to be discovered. Under natural conditions, more than 90 percent of flowers are not visited by insects and do not develop fruit. These results clearly show that traditional agricultural intensification with agrochemicals is not always the best way forward.
Working together with colleagues and students of the Indonesian University of Tadulako of Palu, the scientists found that hand pollination increased the yield of cocoa trees by 161 percent. After deducting the costs of manual pollination, this meant a 69 percent increase in income for small-holder farmers. Using more pesticide and fertiliser did not increase yields.
According to author Manuel Toledo-Hernández, PhD student in the Department of Agroecology at the University of Göttingen,”Our results show how agroecological intensification can be successful by promoting biological processes or using innovative techniques such as manual pollination.”
