Global variation in the flowering phenology of cacao trees (Theobroma cacao)

Understanding the phenology of crops and the factors that influence it is essential to secure their production in a changing climate. Native to the Amazon Forest, cacao (Theobroma cacao) is now cultivated globally in tropical climates. Despite the economic importance of this tree, little is known about its flowering phenology and the influence of abiotic factors such as precipitation and temperature on flowering intensity. Our main objective is to study how flowering moment and intensity differs between the three biogeographic regions in which cacao is cultivated (Americas, Africa, and Australia & India). To do this, we did a meta-analysis of flowering data extracted from scientific articles found while doing systematic searches in the Google Scholar and Web of Science databases. We ran multiple models and tests to examine the effect of precipitation and temperature on flowering intensity. We found that precipitation did not affect the number of flowering months and that cacao trees in the three biogeographic regions flower at different moments of the year.