Mexican Vanilla Production

Mexican vanilla production depended on harvesting the fruits from the wild, which were the result of natural pollination by bees that are endemic to the New World tropics. In whatever system of vanilla cultivation, the maximum yields occur in the fourth or fifth year following after planting (second or third harvest). The primary source of nutrition for vanilla in cultivation is organic material that results from the natural decomposition of vegetable/animal residues, composting, or vermi‐culture. The heterogeneity in harvested fruits effects attempts at dehydrating the beans during the curing process, since immature fruits lose water more quickly than mature fruits. The chinche is the single most damaging vanilla pest, causing tissue damage in the leaves, stems, and fruits. Prices for green vanilla are set by curers‐exporters who consider world prices, supply and demand, costs for curing, exporting and so on in order to ensure a profit.