Weblog Vanilla in Madagascar

Vanilla Planifolia - Harvesting and Storage  How, what and when do you need to harvest the Vanilla Planifolia. The pods of the vanilla planifolia mature seven to nine months after pollination has taken place. A green vanilla bean resembles a large green bean filled with thousands of tiny seeds. When the bean only has the blossom-end tips that are pale yellow, they can be picked by hand, just before the bean is fully ripened. After the picking, you have several steps before the product is ready. The bean undergoes a long, complex curing and drying process that creates the flavour of the characteristic vanilla. Immature beans produce an inferior product and, if picked too late, the beans start splitting. Try to avoid bunch or broom harvesting, the well-ripened ready beans are easily detachable from the bunch just by lifting them in the reverse direction.   The early morning hours are the important hours for harvesting. The harvesting of the beans demands substantial lab...

Vanilla Planifolia - Plant Disease and Insects  The main factor of damage and a lower vanilla production are diseases. Vanilla grows under a temperature and humidity that is in favour of developing pathogens, which are mainly fungi. So, I will write something about the general production of Vanilla and its diseases (not focused on Madagascar). It is always better to prevent diseases instead of controlling the damage it already did to the crop. Of course, when necessary, you can use a chemical control to avoid environmental contamination.   The main vanilla insect pest is the ‘ Chinche Roja ’ ((Tenthecoris confusus Hsiao & Sailer). It is a small insect that has multiple life stages, including 4 instars. At the nymphal stage, it causes the most damage to the vanilla plant. It is the single most damaging vanilla pest, causing tissue damage in the leaves, stems, and the fruits. The wound of the chinche help to the colonization of fungus and bacteria that cause rot, wil...

Today I'm going to write something about weeds. A weed is a wild plant that is growing where it is not wanted and in competition with cultivation.

Vanilla Planifolia in Madagascar and its Soils  Soil types in Africa (Focus on Madagascar) Madagascar has different soil types in its country. People call Madagascar the  “ Great Red Island ”  because of the presence red lateritic soils. These soil types are mainly in the central highlands, although there are much richer soils in regions where the volcanic activity takes place. Examples in the North are Itasy and Ankarata, and Tsaratanana. Alluvial soils are found all along the east coast. On the other hand, at the mouths of the rivers on the west coast, you have clay, sand, and limestone mixtures. In the South part of Madagascar, you will find shallow laterite and limestone soil types. The texture of the soil for vanilla is at is best if the characteristics include good drainage, lots of organic material and a pH value of 6-7. Soil depth of roots should be approximately 40 cm in agroforestry systems. (CRS, 2013) To ensure that the soil has t...

Environment and Agroecosystems of Vanilla in Madagascar Madagascar, a country with a big variety in climate. The reason for this is its geographical position, wide range of altitudes and the different microclimates. Madagascar has the right environmental requirements for this crop. The environmental requirements for the weather are as follows: - Vanilla requires a temperature range of 21 to 32 °C -  a precipitation of 1500 mm or more that is evenly distributed - 80% relative humidity - and altitudes above sea level from 0 to 600 m. Then for the soil requirements: - it needs good drainage - Abundant organic material - Soil depth of roots should be approximately 40 cm in agroforestry systems - and a pH level of 6 to 7 Tropical Cyclones are a prominent feature of the Madagascan climate, which often leads to strong winds and heavy rainfall, which can cause significant damage and loss of life. Season of the cyclones is generally from November to may; its peak is in in Janu...

Vanilla Planifolia - Improving Plants In the table below you can see the differences between self- and cross-pollination. Vanilla itself is Cross Pollinated, but because of unusually high fruit sets a few Vanilla species have been suggested to be self-pollinated through the stigmatic leak or a reduced rostellum (Soto Arenas and Cameron 2003, Householder et al. 2010, Soto Arenas and Dressler 2010, Van Dam et al. 2010). Very little is known about the biology of Vanilla species in Madagascar and so far, nothing about their pollination (Allorge 2013) DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SELF AND CROSS-POLLINATION No. Self-Pollination Cross Pollination 1. In self-pollination, the pollen grains are transferred from anther to stigma of the same flower or different flower present on the same plant. In cross-pollination, the pollen grains are transferred from anther to stigma of another flower present on a different plant. ...