Coffee is deemed to be a high-risk crop in light of upcoming climate changes. Agroforestry practices have been proposed as a nature-based strategy for coffee farmers to mitigate and adapt to future climates. However, with agroforestry systems comes shade, a highly contentious factor for coffee production in terms of potential yield reduction, as we...
In Brazil, most Eucalyptus plantations are located in regions experiencing periods of water shortage, where fertilizers such as potassium (K) are intensively used to achieve high productivity. Recently, sodium (Na) has also been considered a potential nutrient in K-deficient soils. K and Na supply can increase water stress in Eucalyptus grandis tre...
In the frame of African artisanal small-scale extraction of palm oil, the effects of post-harvest storage time and freezing of palm fruits on the extraction yield and quality of crude palm oil (CPO) were studied at laboratory scale using a process mimicking artisanal extraction. The extraction yield and free fatty acid (FFA) content of CPO increase...
Large-scale conversions from monoculture arabica coffee systems to agroforestry systems started in 2012 in southern Yunnan Province. This study analyses the impact of young shade trees (Cinnamomum camphora, Bishofia javanica and Jacaranda mimosifolia) on microclimate, coffee fruit development cycle, coffee yield, and coffee quality only 4 years aft...
The cosmetic and fragrance industry largely exploits citrus essential oils (EOs) because of their aromatic properties. EO compositions are complex and differ between fruit pericarp (PEO) and leaf (LEO). Citrus fruit grow in many countries under very different climates. Seventeen citrus cultivars were selected and their similarities between the two ...
The production period for perennial crops is often indeterminate. For cacao, the production period can last between 15 and 70 years. The implication for breeding is not easy. How many years of production are needed to propose new varieties? How are the production levels of several years linked at tree level? How is it possible to model series of pr...
With charcoal set to remain an important energy source throughout Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) in the foreseeable future, this paper focuses on improving the efficiency of carbonisation as one contribution to more sustainable charcoal value chains. While the efficiency of wood-to-charcoal conversion is often considered a technical matter of kiln perfor...
La taille est une pratique culturale courante en arboriculture. Pourtant ses effets sur le rendement sont variables et peu prévisibles. Dans cette thèse, nous proposons d'étudier les effets de la taille sur la croissance végétative et la reproduction du manguier (Mangifera indica L.), à l'échelle de l'axe et de l'arbre, afin de mieux comprendre com...
In Africa, official statistics contain little data on organic agriculture, even though its products are increasingly available on local and export markets. African consumer demand is growing, providing a dynamic economic opportunity. Today, there is no doubt that organic agriculture is making an important contribution to the agro-ecological transit...
Agro-ecological transition could be a way to address ecological, economic and social challenges faced by dairy farmers. Performances of livestock system are impacted by changes in farming practices. The purpose is to assess how those changes enable the transition toward agroecological systems. In order to assess agro-ecological transition process i...
