Fruit production in Balanites aegyptiaca is highly variable across tropical arid zones of West Africa: implications for sustainability

ABSTRACT

Climate change and overpopulation threaten many fruit tree species in Africa. This study evaluated the yield of Balanites aegyptiaca, a popular species throughout the continent. Productivity was monitored in natural populations over 5 years across two climatic zones in Burkina Faso. The yield of 72 trees in each climatic zone was estimated using the yield of different sized branches. Yield varied significantly over the 5 years within each climatic zone, between populations and within each tree.

Mean (± SE) yield per tree (dry weight) was 2.00 ± 2.23 kg per year in the Sahelian zone and 4.65 ± 3.7 kg per year in the Sudano-Sahelian zone. There was a strong relationship between yield and the diameter of the tree at breast height (Adj.R² > 63%, P < 0.05). Application of these models to natural populations showed that the trees could yield 51.93 kg/ha and 41.05 kg/ha in the Sahelian and Sudano-Sahelian zones, respectively. There was a close relationship between observed and predicted yields (y = x). These models are reliable and can be recommended for the prediction of B. agyptiaca yield in similar tropical areas.

KEYWORDS:

• Tropical species
• fruit potential
• predictive models
• plant management

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by Grand Duchy of Luxembourg through Lux-development, the Swedish Embassy-Burkina Faso and by the International Foundation for Science, Sweden, through a Research grant awarded to OUEDRAOGO Sambo [IFS grant No. D/5911-1]. IFS grant was co-financed by the Committee on Scientific and technological Cooperation (COMSECH). We are also grateful to Mr. Médard ILBOUDO and Mrs. Mamouna BANDAOGO for English text editing and to anonymous referees for valuable and constructive comments on the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Swedish Embassy-Burkina Faso [N/A]; Grand Duchy of Luxembourg through Lux-development; International Foundation for Science (IFS) [No. D/5911-1].