Inducao da producao em cacaueiro com uso de atomizador motorizado portátil na Bahia, Brasil

In the Bahian cocoa region, the cocoa harvest during the first 6 months of the year is usually less than the second, a factor attributed to the low levels of insect pollinators between November and January. A trial carried out by blowing air, using a motorised knapsack sprayer, over the flowers of the self-compatible variety Comum in an attempt to induce mechanical pollination, tripled the yield compared to the untreated plots. However, the net profit computed of the 6 month period was equivalent to only 8 per cent of the treatment costs. Due to the very high yields of the second 6 month period for the two areas, the accumulated yields for whole year show little difference between the treatments. It is to be remembered that increasing pollination by blowing air is only valid for self-compatible cocoa varieties