Handbook of Vanilla Science and Technology

To date, very little vanilla related research has been done in Belize. V. planifolia is a rare endemic to Belize and is sometimes sympatric with other species of vanilla that produce a scented fruit, such as V. pompona, V. odorata, V insignis, and V hartii (Soto Arenas 1999). Owing to the infrequency with which vanilla flowers in the wild (Childers et al. 1959), positive species identification is extremely difficult, and in the case of Belize has been very limited. Individual populations can be easily destroyed by insensitive land use, and natural reintroduction rates are low. Due to the dearth of definite information regarding vanilla (species present, distribution, preferred growing conditions), sustainable conservation and use patterns cannot now be established.

Because the wild/relic vanillas of Belize may represent lost varieties (Lubinsky et al. 2008a), it is imperative that they be located, and that specimens be collected and then identified both morphologically and genetically. With this, in addition to species identification, patterns of hybrid origin and overall phylogenetic relationship can be established. Relative rarity of each Vanilla spp. can also be determined. Specimen deposition in both domestic and foreign herbaria would logically follow.

Vanilla habitat within Belize needs to be mapped and described. This description should consist mostly of biotic elements such as associated vegetation and proximity to waterways, but should also include measurements of humidity, characterization of soils, consideration of elevation and slope direction, proximity to human settlements both present and historical, historical logging records, etc.

Using GIS, a method for predicting expected locations of vanilla, should then be created and tested. Actual output of this component would be dependent on whether vanilla is ascertained to be either a phytosociologically selective, exclusive, or preferential species.

Finally, the establishment of an ex situ conservation gene bank would contribute to: conservation of the genetic and morphological diversity of Belizean vanilla, ease of further research due to the plants’ proximity to one another, and enablement of site manipulation to induce flowering, and cultivar selection and breeding use to aid the burgeoning vanilla industry in Toledo.

Construction of the information base outlined in Section 4.1.4 would allow for forest policy recommendations to be produced regarding conservation, sustainable use of wild-harvested vanilla for cultivation purposes, and an information base and intellectual guidelines for protected area management organizations.

While the disappearance of intensive vanilla cultivation by the Chol Maya may be mourned, it is nonetheless proof that the crop is well suited to the climate and geography of southern Belize. As such, vanilla agriculture and its trade could easily be revived in the region. With the introduction of cultivation made by MMRF and the establishment of OVA, the seeds of this renaissance have been sown. However, the aforementioned research is necessary to ensure that the Belizean vanilla industry flourishes and that the country’s extant vanilla resources are safeguarded.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We owe a debt of gratitude to Daphna Havkin-Frenkel and Faith Belanger for inviting us to contribute to this volume. We would like to thank the Geoffrey Roberts Trust for providing the financial support that facilitated the research for and writing of this chapter. We would also like to thank Christopher Nesbitt of Maya Mountain Research Farm and Pesach Lubinsky for their generosity in sharing their wealth of knowledge with us. We are grateful to Egbert Valencio and Mauricio Ah, who led us to the locations of numerous wild vanilla vines, and to Adelina Caliz and Cyrila Cho, who spoke to us of the role vanilla plays in their culture. Photos are used with the permission of the individuals in the photos.