• Cultivation potential of Vanilla crop wild relatives in two contrasting land use systems 

      Watteyn, Charlotte; Reubens, Bert; Azofeifa Bolaños, José Bernal; Solano Campos, Frank; Pérez Silva, Araceli; Karremans Lok, Adam Philip; Muys, Bart (2023)
      Vanilla is an important cash crop for many smallholder farmers around the tropics, and a highly appreciated spice used in a wide range of products. The crop species Vanilla planifolia is, however, facing a number of threats ...
    • Evolution of Seed Dispersal Modes in the Orchidaceae: Has the Vanilla Mystery Been Solved? 

      Karremans Lok, Adam Philip; Watteyn, Charlotte; Scaccabarozzi, Daniela; Pérez Escobar, Oscar Alejandro; Bogarín Chaves, Diego Gerardo (2023)
      Orchid seeds are predominantly wind-dispersed, often developed within dry, dehiscent fruits that typically release millions of dust-like seeds into the air. Animal-mediated seed dispersal is a lesser-known phenomenon in ...
    • Exploring farmer preferences towards innovations in the vanilla supply chain 

      Watteyn, Charlotte; Dejonghe, Olivia; Van Hoyweghen, Kaat; Azofeifa Bolaños, José Bernal; Karremans Lok, Adam Philip; Vranken, Liesbet; Reubens, Bert; Muys, Bart; Maertens, Miet (2021-11)
      The vanilla supply chain is characterized by high risk crop management and unstable supply. In order to meet global vanilla demand while improving production sustainability, new approaches considering agro-ecological ...
    • First evidence for multimodal animal seed dispersal in orchids 

      Karremans Lok, Adam Philip; Bogarín Chaves, Diego Gerardo; Fernández Otárola, Mauricio; Sharma, Jyotsna; Watteyn, Charlotte; Warner Pineda, Jorge; Rodríguez Herrera, Bernal; Chinchilla Alvarado, Isler Fabián; Carman, Ernesto; Rojas Valerio, Emmanuel; Pillco Huarcaya, Ruthmery; Whitworth, Andrew (2022)
      Identifying the mechanisms for seed dispersal and persistence of species is a central aim of ecology. Seed dispersal by animals is an essential form of dissemination in many plant communities, including seeds of over 66% ...
    • Sweet as Vanilla hartii: Evidence for a nectar-rewarding pollination mechanism in Vanilla (Orchidaceae) flowers 

      Watteyn, Charlotte; Scaccabarozzi, Daniela; Muys, Bart; Reubens, Bert; Ackerman, James D.; Fernández Otárola, Mauricio; Guizar Amador, Maria Fernanda; Karremans Lok, Adam Philip (2023-05-01)
      Little is known about the pollination mechanisms of species belonging to the genus Vanilla (Orchidaceae). Both autonomous self-pollination and animal-mediated pollination mechanisms seem to exist amongst the Vanilla species, ...
    • Trick or treat? Pollinator attraction in Vanilla pompona (Orchidaceae) 

      Watteyn, Charlotte; Scaccabarozzi, Daniela; Muys, Bart; Van der Schueren, Nele; Van Meerbeek, Koenraad; Guizar Amador, Maria Fernanda; Ackerman, James D.; Cedeño Fonseca, Marco Vinicio; Chinchilla Alvarado, Isler Fabián; Reubens, Bert; Pillco Huarcaya, Ruthmery; Cozzolino, Salvatore; Karremans Lok, Adam Philip (2021-11)
      Natural pollination of Vanilla species remains poorly understood. Our research aimed at better understanding the pollinator attraction mechanism of the Neotropical species Vanilla pompona. Based on our results, we hypothesize ...
    • Vanilla distribution modeling for conservation and sustainable cultivation in a joint land sparing/sharing concept 

      Watteyn, Charlotte; Fremout, Tobias; Karremans Lok, Adam Philip; Pillco Huarcaya, Ruthmery; Azofeifa Bolaños, José Bernal; Reubens, Bert; Muys, Bart (2020-03)
      Vanilla, an expensive but popular spice used in many industries, faces problems related to its supply. Some of these problems are due to the fact that vanilla cultivation is based on clonal material of a single species ...