Cacao Pollination

Have you ever wondered how your favourite chocolate bar goes from the cacao tree to your mouth? It turns out it’s a wild journey full of twists and turns. The cacao tree, with all its quirks, seems like it never signed up to be turned into chocolate. It’s picky, delicate, and needs loads of TLC. So, how did we ever turn this high-maintenance plant into everyone’s favourite treat? Let’s dive into the magic of cacao pollination.

First, let’s take a quick trip to where cacao grows – the tropical fields. Here’s the deal: cacao pollination is like a mini miracle. Each year, a cacao tree pops out a whopping 250,000 flowers, but only 10% of them ever become cacao pods. The other 90%? Well, they’re just left hanging, never getting the pollen they need to turn into those delicious cocoa beans. What makes cacao pollination so tricky, you ask? Let’s break it down.

Cacao flowers are the starting point, tiny with a complex structure. The cacao tree, being a bit of a diva, can’t self-pollinate – its flowers can’t pollinate each other. They need a little help from their pals, and those pals happen to be tiny, flying insects. But here’s the catch: the cacao flower is incredibly small, hidden, and tricky to access. So, only specific insects can get the job done.

Forget about Bees!

Forget about bees – they’re just too big to squeeze into these tiny flowers. They might hang around, but they’re not exactly helping with pollination. These tiny, specialised insects must be small (under 2-3 mm), furry (to carry sticky pollen), and comfortable in the humid cacao-growing environment.

So, who are these superheroes of cacao pollination? Biting midges from the Ceratopogonidae family, and sometimes gall midges from the Cecidomyiidae family, take the spotlight. Fun fact: female midges are the real MVPs here. But even with these ace pollinators, there are hurdle.

These midges are like shoppers in a supermarket, with plenty of other flowers to choose from. So, cacao flowers compete with all the other floral options for their attention. Plus, midges can only carry a limited amount of pollen – around 30 grains at a time. But cacao flowers need way more than that for the fruits to grow big and juicy.

Now, here’s the real kicker: since cacao trees don’t like self-pollination, these midges have to fly from one tree to another, covering longer distances instead of just hopping from flower to flower on the same plant.

Are you starting to see the struggle here? Cacao pollination is like a miracle because, despite all these obstacles, it somehow manages to work. But some tricks are used to make it easier with a better yield.