ABSTRACT
Vanilla planifolia G. Jackson (syn. V. fragrans Andrews), is a tropical climbing orchid (Figure 5.1) known for producing the delicate popular avor, vanilla (Purseglove et al., 1981) and is the second most expensive spice traded in the global market after saffron (Ferrão, 1992). The major vanilla-producing countries are Madagascar, Indonesia, Uganda, India, and the Comoros with Madagascar ranking rst. Following the discovery of the New World by Columbus in 1492, the earliest vanilla dissemination record from Mexico is the one by Father Labat who imported three V. planifolia vines into Martinique in 1697. The lack of natural pollinators in the areas of introduction prevented sexual reproduction and pod production until the discovery of arti cial pollination in the rst half of the nineteenth century (Bory et al., 2008d). Continuous vegetative propagation, lack of natural seed set, and insuf cient variations in the gene pool all hamper crop improvement programs.
