Dr. Daphna Havkin-Frenkel, Department of Plant Biology, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA.

Dr. Faith C. Belanger, Department of Plant Biology, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA.

List of Contributors xix Preface xxiii Part I Production of Vanilla - Agricultural Systems and Curing 1 1 Mexican Vanilla Production 3Juan Hernandez¿Hernández 1.1 Introduction 3 1.1.1 The Mexican Vanilla Legend 4 1.2 Cultivation Methods 5 1.2.1 "Traditional"/Acahual 5 1.2.2 Intensive System (Monoculture) 6 1.2.3 Vanilla Cultivation in Existing Orange Groves 6 1.2.4 Shade Houses 7 1.3 Vanilla Propagation Techniques 8 1.3.1 Preparation and Disinfection of Cuttings 8 1.3.2 Establishing Cuttings - Timing 8 1.3.3 Establishing Cuttings - Planting 9 1.3.4 New Bud Formation and Root Growth 9 1.4 Irrigation 9 1.5 Nutrition 10 1.5.1 Mulch 10 1.5.2 Building Compost 10 1.6 Weed Control 11 1.7 Shade Management (Pruning of Support Trees) 11 1.8 Shoot Management - Looping 12 1.9 Shoot Management - Rooting 12 1.10 Main Vanilla Insect Pest 12 1.11 Main Vanilla Diseases 13 1.11.1 Anthracnose 14 1.11.2 Rust 14 1.11.3 Yellowing and Pre¿mature Fruit Drop 14 1.12 Flowering and Pollination 14 1.12.1 Percent of Flowering Plants 15 1.12.2 Natural Pollination 15 1.12.3 Hand Pollination 15 1.12.4 Quantity of Flowers to be Pollinated 17 1.12.5 Fruit Development 17 1.13 Harvesting 17 1.13.1 Harvesting Practices 18 1.13.2 Preventing Theft 18 1.14 Green Vanilla Commercialization 19 1.14.1 Prices 19 1.15 Curing 19 1.15.1 Yield Ratio of Green/Cured Vanilla 21 1.16 Grading 21 1.16.1 Packing 22 1.17 Buyers 23 1.18 Export Volume 23 1.19 Prices 23 1.20 Aromatic Profile 23 1.21 Summary 24 References 24 2 Vanilla Diseases 27Juan Hernandez¿Hernández 2.1 Introduction 27 2.2 Root and Stem Rot (Fusarium oxysporum f. Sp. Vanillae) 27 2.2.1 Description 27 2.2.2 Damage 28 2.2.3 Control 28 2.3 Black Rot (Phytophtora Sp.) 29 2.3.1 Description 29 2.3.2 Damage 29 2.3.3 Control 29 2.4 Anthracnose (Colletotrichum Sp.) 30 2.4.1 Description 30 2.4.2 Damage 31 2.4.3 Control 31 2.5 Rust (Uromyces Sp.) 31 2.5.1 Description 31 2.5.2 Damage 2.5.3 Control 32 2.6 Rotting of Recently Planted Cuttings 32 2.6.1 Description 32 2.6.2 Damage 32 2.6.3 Control 33 2.7 Yellowing and Shedding of Young Fruits 33 2.7.1 Description 33 2.7.2 Damage 34 2.7.3 Control 34 2.8 Viral Diseases 35 2.8.1 Cymbidium Mosaic Virus (CYMV) 35 2.8.2 Vanilla Mosaic Virus (VMV) 35 2.8.3 Vanilla Necrosis Potyvirus (VNPV) 35 2.8.4 Odontoglossum Ringspot Virus (ORSV) 35 2.8.5 Prevention of Viral Diseases 36 2.9 Damage by Adverse Climatic Factors 36 2.9.1 Natural Pruning of the Apical Buds 36 2.9.1.1 Description 36 2.9.1.2 Damage 37 2.9.1.3 Control 37 2.10 Damage from Sunburn 37 2.10.1 Description 37 2.10.2 Damage 37 2.10.3 Control 38 2.11 Hurricanes 38 References 39 3 Vanilla Production in Costa Rica 41Elida Varela Quirós 3.1 Introduction 41 3.2 History of Vanilla Production in Costa Rica 42 3.2.1 The First Phase of Large¿scale Cultivation in Costa Rica 42 3.2.2 The Second Phase of Vanilla Cultivation in Costa Rica 42 3.2.3 The Third Phase 43 3.3 Vanilla Production - The Traditional System 45 3.4 Vanilla Production - The Intensive System 47 3.5 Propagation 48 3.6 Diseases and Pests 49 3.7 Vanilla Bean Processing 50 3.8 Conclusions 50 References 51 4 Atypical Flowering of Vanilla planifolia in the Region of Junín, Peru 53Juan Hernández-Hernández 4.1 Preparation of the "Mother" Plant (Cuttings) 54 4.2 Planting Method 54 4.2.1 Weed Control 55 4.2.2 Shoot Management - Looping 55 4.2.3 Shoot Management - Rooting 55 4.3 Nutrition 55 4.4 Irrigation 55 4.5 Pests, Disorders, and Diseases 57 4.5.1 Vanilla Pest 57 4.5.2 Diseases 57 4.5.3 Intense Solar Radiation 57 4.5.4 New Pest 57 4.5.5 New Disease 58 4.6 Flowering Period 59 4.6.1 Atypical Vanilla Bloom in Peru 59 4.7 Hand Pollination 60 4.8 Harvesting 61 4.9 Vanilla Curing 62 4.10 Final Comments 62 References 63 5 Vanilla Production in the Context of Culture, Economics, and Ecology of Belize 65Nelle Gretzinger and Dawn Dean 5.1 Introduction 65 5.1.1 Toledo Agriculture and Socio¿demographics Today 66 5.1.2 Maya Mountain Research Farm 66 5.1.3 Agro¿ecological Systems 67 5.1.4 Maya Mountain Research Farm Vanilla Cultivation and Introduction Project 68 5.1.5 The Belize Organic Vanilla Association 69 5.1.6 OVA Description and Goals 69 5.1.7 Innovative Vanilla Plantation Establishment Method Pioneered by OVA Members Nicasio and Ophelia Chee Sanchez 71 5.1.8 Wild/Relic Vanilla Stands in Toledo District 72 5.1.9 Possibility of Wild Superior or Useful Genotypes/Species 74 5.1.10 Dr Pesach Lubinsky's Research in Belize and Regarding Vanilla tahitensis 74 5.1.11 Manche Chol 76 5.2 Discussion 78 Acknowledgments 79 References 82 6 Conservation and Sustainable Use of Vanilla Crop Wild Relatives in Colombia 85Nicola S. Flanagan, Paul Chavarriaga, and Ana Teresa Mosquera¿Espinosa 6.1 Introduction 85 6.1.1 Low Genetic Diversity in the Vanilla Crop 85 6.1.2 The Importance of Crop Wild Relatives for Agriculture 85 6.2 Vanilla Crop Wild Relatives 86 6.2.1 Phylogenetic Diversity Within the Genus Vanilla 86 6.2.2 The Secondary Gene Pool for Vanilla 86 6.2.3 Vanilla Diversity in Colombia 87 6.3 Vanilla Species in the Wild 89 6.3.1 Vanilla Species are Rare in the Wild 89 6.3.2 Reproductive Biology of Vanilla Wild Species 91 6.3.2.1 Pollinators 91 6.3.2.2 Autogamy 91 6.3.3 Mycorrhizal Interactions 92 6.3.4 Further Interactions with the Microbiome 93 6.3.5 Bioclimatic and Biophysical Adaptations 94 6.4 Conservation of Vanilla Crop Wild Relatives 95 6.4.1 Threats to Conservation 95 6.4.2 Conservation In situ 96 6.4.3 Conservation Ex situ 96 6.4.4 Conservation Ex situ of the Vanilla Microbiome 98 6.4.5 Conservation of Circa situm and Sustainable Use 98 6.5 Biotechnological Approaches for Vanilla Genetic Resource Conservation and Utilization 100 6.5.1 Characterization and Utilization of Genetic Diversity 100 6.5.1.1 DNA Barcoding 100 6.5.1.2 Genomic Characterization of Vanilla 100 6.5.2 Application of Microorganisms in Vanilla Cultivation 101 6.6 An Integrated Strategy for Conservation and Sustainable Use of Vanilla Crop Wild Relatives 101 6.6.1 A Colombian National Strategy for Vanilla CWR 101 6.6.2 International Strategy for Conservation of Vanilla CWR 102 References 102 7 The History of Vanilla in Puerto Rico: Diversity, Rise, Fall, and Future Prospects 111Paul Bayman 7.1 Introduction 111 7.2 Diversity of Wild Vanilla in Puerto Rico 111 7.2.1 Species and Distributions 111 7.2.2 Flowering, Pollination, and Fruit Set 112 7.3 Rise and Fall: The History of Vanilla Cultivation in Puerto Rico 112 7.4 Socioeconomic Factors Contributing to the Decline of Vanilla 114 7.5 Diseases and Decline 114 7.5.1 Fusarium Root and Stem Rot (RSR) 115 7.5.1.1 The Pathogen 115 7.5.1.2 Symptoms of RSR 116 7.5.1.3 Other Fusarium Species 116 7.5.2 Other Diseases and Pests 116 7.5.3 Possible Solutions to RSR 116 7.5.3.1 Biological Control 116 7.5.3.2 Mycorrhiza 117 7.5.3.3 Chemical Control 117 7.5.3.4 Breeding 117 7.5.3.5 Cultural Control 117 7.6 Future Prospects 118 Acknowledgments 118 References 118 8 Origins and Patterns of Vanilla Cultivation in Tropical America (1500-1900): No Support for an Independent Domestication of Vanilla in South America 121Pesach Lubinsky, Gustavo A. Romero¿González, Sylvia M. Heredia, and Stephanie Zabel 8.1 Introduction 121 8.1.1 I. Pre¿Cultivation, ca. 1500-1750s 127 8.1.2 II. Papantla Monopoly, 1760s-1840s 131 8.1.3 III. The Vanilla Revolution, 1850s-1900, "... and we've never looked back" 135 8.2 The Vanilla Necklace 136 8.3 Summary 138 Acknowledgments 139 References 139 9 Vanilla Production in Australia 147Richard Exley 9.1 Introduction 147 9.2 History 147 9.3 Species 148 9.4 Climatic Regions of Australia Suitable for Vanilla 148 9.5 Climatic Conditions in the Vanilla Growing Regions 149 9.6 Soil and Nutrients 150 9.7 Watering 150 9.8 Fertilizing 150 9.9 Propagation 150 9.10 Support 151 9.11 Light/Shade 152 9.12 Spacing 153 9.13 Training 154 9.14 Flowering, Fruit Set, Growth, and Maturation 154 9.14.1 Flowering 154 9.14.2 Fruit Set (Pollination) 154 9.14.3 Growth and Maturation 155 9.15 Harvesting 155 9.16 Curing 155 9.16.1 Overview 155 References 156 10 Vanilla in Dutch Greenhouses: A Discovery - From Research to Production 157Filip van Noort 10.1 Introduction 157 10.1.1 Start of Research 157 10.2 Review of Literature 157 10.3 Flowering 159 10.3.1 Greenhouse 160 10.3.2 Sustainability 160 10.4 Varieties 161 10.5 Propagation 161 10.5.1 Cultivation 161 10.5.2 Growing Systems 162 10.6 Feasibility and Conclusions 162 References 163 11 Establishing Vanilla Production and a Vanilla Breeding Program in the Southern United States 165Alan H. Chambers 11.1 Introduction 165 11.2 Southern Florida Climate 165 11.2.1 Average Temperatures 166 11.2.2 Average Rainfall 166 11.2.3 Average Solar Radiation 166 11.2.4 Major Weather Events 168 11.3 Native and Naturalized Vanilla Species of South Florida 169 11.3.1 V. dilloniana 169 11.3.2 V. mexicana 169 11.3.3 V. barbellata 169 11.3.4 V. phaeantha 169 11.3.5 V. planifolia 171 11.4 Establishing Vanilla Production in Southern Florida 173 11.4.1 Shade House Cultivation 173 11.4.2 Tutor Tree Cultivation 173 11.4.3 Substrate Considerations 174 11.4.4 Local Economics and Niche Opportunities 174 11.5 Vanilla Breeding 175 11.5.1 Establishing a Vanilla Breeding Program in the United States 175 11.5.2 Acquiring Diverse Vanilla Accessions 176 11.5.3 Creating Diversity in Vanilla 176 11.5.4 Identifying the Primary Gene Pool 177 11.5.5 Target Traits 177 11.5.6 A Case for a Publically Available Vanilla Genome 178 11.6 Conclusions 178 References 178 12 In vitro Propagation of Vanilla 181Rebeca Alicia Menchaca García 12.1 Methods 182 12.1.1 In vitro Germination 182 12.1.2 Tissue Culture 182 12.2 Results and Discussion 183 12.2.1 Germination 183 12.2.2 Seed Maturity 183 12.2.3 Time for Germination 183 12.2.4 Scarification 183 12.2.5 Tissue Culture 183 12.2.6 Hybridization 184 12.2.7 In vitro Germplasm Bank 185 12.2.8 Repatriation and Recovery of Mexican Species 185 12.2.9 Method of Ex vitro Adaptation 186 12.2.10 Greenhouse Collection 186 12.2.11 Social Linkage 186...