Is productivity of cacao impeded by epiphytes? An experimental approach

The impact of epiphytes on cacao productivity was investigated in agroforests in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. Effects of epiphyte removal on fruit-set success and eventual yields were studied on 80 trees in an experiment with a balanced full factorial design. The removal treatment had no significant effect on the eventual harvest of the cacao trees. Pollinator availability had the greatest impact on fruit-set success, whereas yields were mainly determined by site-specific factors that mediate fruit-abortion and occurrence of fungal diseases. The results illustrate that epiphytic flora dominated by non-vascular species may have no effects on cacao tree functioning and removal of non-vascular epiphytes is unnecessary for improving the productivity of cacao. Hence, farmers’ labour can be reduced and conservation of the rich biodiversity outside natural forests supported.