Baobab leaves production for household consumption: A synthesis of existing techniques

African baobab (Adansonia digitata L.) leaves constitute the second most harvested and used organ by local populations for various purposes, namely food and medicine in sub-saharan Africa. Faced with increasing anthropogenic pressure on the natural population of the species, the definition of sustainable management strategies becomes necessary to sustain the growing demand, including the baobab leaf cultivation. The current review is an attempt to synthesize and critically examine the existing technical routes for the species leaves production, from germination to leaves’ harvesting. Data were collected through thirty-seven eligible articles we found a diversity of seed pre-treatments: physical, chemical and thermic. Seed scarification was often considered safer and yielded good germination rates (100 %). There was also a large variation of sowing density (from 10 × 20 cm to 250 × 250 cm). Substrates often used are enriched with compost or manure (44.44 - 6250 kg per 100 m2) and sometimes chemical fertilizers with lack of precision regarding doses used. Frequency of leaves harvesting varied from two to eight weeks. Leaves biomass lacks consistent data, making hard to derive a consistent trend. Harvested leaves biomass for a sowing density of 15 × 15 cm yielded 400 kg / 100 m2 / month for the first two months after germination and 200 kg / 100 m2 / month from the 3rd month. Further experimentations are still needed to optimize baobab leaves’ production. Suggested foci include: providing consistent data on leaves biomass in relationships to technical routes and elucidating profitability of the activity. Key words: Adansonia digitata, density of sowing, fertilization, harvesting frequency, seeds’ pre-treatment