Rehabilitación de plantaciones tradicionales de cacao en Ecuador

Resumen

Palabras clave: Cacao, Rehabilitaci—n de plantaciones, Pr‡cticas agr'colas, Manejo de plantaciones, Ecuador. ABSTRACT. Rehabilitation of traditional cocoa plantations in Ecuador. In Ecuador there are more than approximately 327 000 ha planted with cocoa, with a production of 200-300 kg/ha/year.Thousands of families of small producers make a living from the production of cocoa. The main factors that affect the yield of this crop are plantations of advanced age, presence of diseases such as witch's broomstick (Crinipellis perniciosa) and monilia (Monilia roreri), deficient agricultural management, which together with low grain prices, has caused serious problems for these producers .W ith the aim of improving production in Ecuador, a program of rehabilitation of traditional cocoa plantations has been performed. The rehabilitation consists of the application of a series of management practices such as pollarding and the regulation of shade, that allows the renovation of productive material and reduces the altitude of the cocoa plants, increasing the productive period of the traditional plantations and decreasing the incidence of endemic diseases. The experience in Ecuador shows that the farmer is not affected during the process of rehabilitation because the planting of intercalated crops that make it possible to obtain economic benefits during the time that the cocoa plantation stops producing, is included. This allows the renovation of the plantations and improvement of production.