From Neglected Crops: 1492 from a different perspective
by the Food And Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Cupuaçu
(Theobroma grandiflorum)
Botanical name: Theobroma grandiflorum (Wild. ex Spring) Schumann
Family: Sterculiaceae
Common
Names: English: cupuaçu, cupuassu; Portuguese: cupuaçu
The cupuaçu is an arboreal
fruit species considered to be a pre-Colombian crop plant which is
still found wild in the eastern subregion of Brazilian Amazonia.
Several authors rate it as one of the most promising fruits among the
rich Amazonian flora, of which 271 fruit species have been described.
An analysis of the potential of the fruit species native to Amazonia
induced the author to propose four priority groups: 14 species
considered to be domesticated, including the cupuaçu: 19
semi-domesticated species; 12 species that are not domesticated but
whose domestication potential is recognized; and 13 palm species.
Botanical description
Theobroma grandiflorum
is an arboreal species which reaches 15 to 20m in height, but less than
8 m when cultivated. It exhibits trichomic branching. its leaves are
simple, alternate and coriaceous. 25 to 35 cm long and 6 to 10 cm wide,
with a bright-green, pubescent upper surface and grey underside. It has
a cymose inflorescence with three to five flowers, five dark-purple
subtrapezoidal petals, a calyx with five triangular sepals, five
stamens with bilocular anthers, five staminodes and a pentagonal
superior ovary with five locules containing numerous seed primordia.
Pollination is carried out mainly by ants and aphids, with vespertine
anthesis. The fruit occurs in the form of a drupe and is strong and
pleasant smelling. It is smooth on the outside, ellipsoidal, 25 cm long
by 12 cm wide and weighs up to 1.5 kg. The endocarp is white, soft and
sour-tasting, containing 25 to 50 superposed seeds in five rows. The
ripe fruit is harvested when it falls to the ground.
Fig. 23. Cupauaçu (Theobroma grandiflorum), flowers and cross-section of the fruit.
Ecology and phytogeography
In
its wild state, the cupuaçu grows in high primary forests, on fertile,
well-drained soils. It is commoner in the south of the state of Pará,
on the banks of the Tapajós, Tocantins, Xingu and Guama Rivers, and is
found up to the northeast of the state of Maranhao on the banks of the
Turiaçu and Pindare Rivers. It requires mean annual temperatures of
between 21 and 27°C, a mean annual relative humidity of between 77 and
88 percent and rainfall of between 1900 and 3000 mm. It is grown in
small domestic gardens and nurseries in eastern Amazonia in Brazil.
Genetic diversity
Twenty different species of Theobroma
have been described but usually only 12 are accepted. Of these, nine
are native to Amazonia, hence the centre of genetic distribution
appears to be the western half of the region. The distribution limit of
Theobroma species extends as
far as the state of Maranhão in the east, to the foot of the Andes in
Peru in the west, as far as southern Mexico in the north, as far as
Bolivia in the south and, in Brazil, as far as the south of the state
of Mato Grosso.
The genus Theobroma
is typically neotropical and is distributed in the tropical rain forest
in the Western Hemisphere between lat. 18°N and 15°S. The region with
the most species is between Costa Rica and northeastern Colombia. Five
sections and 20 species are recognized. T. grandiflorum belongs to the section Glossopetalum, made up of 11 species; T. cacao is the only species of the Theobroma section.
Four species of Theobroma have been described as producers of edible flesh: T. grandiflorum, T. canumanense Pires & Froes, T. subincanum Martius, (Cupuí in Brazil and Cacau de monte in Colombia) and T. tricolor Humb.
& Bonpl., which is a small tree distributed from western Amazonia
to southern Mexico. Chocolate is also made from the seeds of these
species. The basins of the Napo, Putumayo and Caqueta Rivers in the
upper Amazon appear to be the centre of genetic diversity of T. cacao, although T. grandiflorum is found in southern Para in Brazil, and in Tocantins, Tapajós, Xingu and Guama.
In
Pará, three cultivars of cupuaçu are known: Redondo, with its rounded
end, which is the most common; Mamorano, which has a pointed end and
produces the biggest fruits; and Mamau, possibly a parthenocarpic
mutant. Artificial hybrids between T. grandiflorum and T. obovatum produce fruits with the characteristics of cupuaçu, but which are smaller and less resistant to witches' broom.
In
Brazilian Amazonia, there are three collections of cupuaçu germplasm.
The biggest is at INPA. near Manaus, with 27 accessions. The CPATU in
Belém has a collection with 13 accessions and the Departamento Especial
da Amazonia, which belongs to CEPEC which, in turn, comes under CEPLAC,
set up a cocoa gene bank in Belém in 1976, with 1749 accessions of T. cacao collected in Amazonia, seven species of Theobroma including three genotypes of T. grandiflorum and three of Herrania.
The
cupuaçu is sustaining heavy genetic erosion. Its centre of diversity is
in a subregion of southern Pará, where there has been intensive
destruction of its habitat through deforestation as well as through the
construction of the Tucuruí dam which flooded 2300 km2 of primary
vegetation in the basin of the Tocantins River, where the species is
still abundant in its wild state.
Cultivation practices
Conventional propagation techniques.
The cupuaçu is generally propagated from seed, but seedless varieties
such as Mamau are propagated from cuttings or grafts. As in all species
of Theobroma, the seeds are not resistant to desiccation and are sown as soon as they have had the flesh removed and been washed.
Seed
beds are prepared with fertile soil and fertilized with manure, being
kept in natural shade or under plastic mesh so as to achieve 75 percent
shade. From 800 to 1000 seeds per m2 are sown in rows set 5 cm apart,
with 2 cm between seeds, and are covered with a 1 cm layer of soil.
Germination takes about ten days. When the seedlings measure 10 cm,
they are transplanted into 40 x 30 cm black polyethylene bags, with a
rich substrate of organic matter and fertilizer. The plants are kept in
a nursery in partial shade (50 percent) until they reach about 50 cm,
at which point they are sown in the garden.
For propagation by
cutting, young terminal branches with about five leaves are used, as in
cocoa. The leaves are cut down the middle and a growth stimulant is
applied to the base of the cuttings, which are placed in a propagator
with saturation humidity, under a roof which provides 75 percent shade.
After they have taken root they are transplanted into black
polyethylene bags and are kept in the nursery in the shade until they
are ready for planting out in the garden.
Propagation by grafting requires stocks obtained from seeds of cupuaçu itself or of other Theobroma species, such as T. obovatum which produces dwarf plants.
Traditional cultivation techniques.
A new cupuaçu plot requires dense shade in the first few years. If
primary arboreal vegetation is still growing on the land, simply
thinning the smaller trees and the creepers will suffice. In the case
of deforested land, a temporary, fast-growing shade tree such as
banana, plantain, papaya, or a permanent fruit-tree such as the
Leguminosa Inga edulis. The
greatest planting distances for the seedlings are 7 x7 m or 8 x 8 m,
and 6 x 6 m for the graft trees. Transplanting holes may be 40 cm in
diameter and depth and will be filled with earth that is rich in
organic matter and fertilized with 10 litres of manure and 50 g of
triple superphosphate. In gardens with both natural and artificial
shade, the level of protection from the sun is gradually decreased
after the second year until the fourth year when only some 50 percent
of shade is left. Systematic control of weeds in the plot is an
important task.
The cupuaçu, like cocoa, is a plant which
requires nutrients and needs annual fertilization. During the growth
stage, 50 g of 12-12-12 NPK + Mg are applied each year; from the fourth
year 120 g: and, during production, 500 g of the formula 15-15-13 + Mg,
divided into three yearly dressings with 20 additional litres of
manure. Plots with adult crops produce 7 to 10 tonnes per hectare per
year.
The most serious disease of cupuaçu is witches' broom, caused by the fungus Crinipellis perniciosa
which is endemic to Amazonia. It affects new branches, flower buds and
growing fruit most seriously. The branches attacked swell and put out a
great number of shoots similar to a broom, which then wither. The
flower buds affected put out "small brooms". The diseased tree does not
die but gradually weakens, with a conspicuous reduction in yield. To
control the disease, systematic pruning of the diseased branches is
recommended at least twice a year.
Current situation of the crop.
Cupuaçu cultivation is concentrated in Pará where it continues to
expand, although it is also grown in other states, i.e. Acre, Amapá,
Amazonas and Rondônia, always in small domestic and commercial gardens.
However, extractive production is still considerable. It has also been
introduced into the humid tropics of Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador,
Peru and Venezuela.
In Pará, yearly production reaches about 500
tonnes. The municipalities of Vigia, S. Antonio de Tauá, Tomé-Assu,
Cametá and Capitão do Poço are the major producers.
The period of greatest abundance is the first six months, with a maximum between February and April.
Products obtained.
Studies of the cupuaçu's dietetic characteristics, with the juices,
nectar and preserves industry in mind, show that the fresh juice
contains 10.8 percent brix, 21.91 percent amino acids, 23.12 percent
vitamin C per mg and 3.0 percent reducing sugars, and that the pH is
3.3. The flesh makes up 40 percent of the fruit and seeds 18 percent.
The seeds contain 48 percent sweet-smelling, white butter, which can
also be used to make excellent-quality white chocolate.
The
product obtained through manual depulping is generally preferred
because it allows the pieces to be maintained, whereas the mechanically
depulped product results in a uniform pulp that is more suited to the
industrial production of juice and sorbets.
Prospects for improvement
The
cupuaçu occupies a prominent place in the group of the 58 priority
species. Its potential is recognized. and a growing demand is opening
up possibilities of industrialization and access to the great market of
central and southern Brazil as well as international markets.
Expansion
of cultivation to Brazilian Amazonia does not present any serious
limitations. Witches' broom disease is not a limiting factor, the
climate is suitable and the availability of land makes considerable
expansion of the crop possible. With extension into Colombia, Costa
Rica, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela and Mexico, it is likely to become
recognized as one of the best tropical fruit-trees.
The crop is suited to small agricultural properties on account of its high profitability and secure demand.
Bibliography
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Last update Friday, May 29, 1998 by aw
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