Kulturpflanz(, 3() " 19:4,~• 451-4t)3 I

The "conuco"-an important refuge of Cuban plant genetic

resources

.~,IIGUI.;L I:SQUIVF.L 1 a n d KARL HA.MMI:R

( E i n g e g a n g e n a m 7. J a n u a r 19ss)

Summary

The "conuco" in Cuba is a large garden or a small field where agriculture is

practiced in a traditional way. The history of the "conuco" is discussed. Compo-
sition and structure of actual "conucos" are described on the basis of four cases
studied in Eastern Cuba. Their cultivated plants came from nearly all regions
of diversity of the world. The crops from the Central American and .Mexican
region are most important. The great diversity of different crops as well as the
marked variation within most of the cultivated plants stress the importance of
the "conuco" as a reservoir for plant genetic resources.

Introduction

The "conuco" nowadays is a small area of land for plant production where some
Cuban farmers practice traditional agriculture based on local cultivars. The im-
portance of the "conucos" as a reservoir for plant genetic resources has been
stressed by ESQUIVEL et al. (1987, 1988). Some other literature exists which
surveys the historical development of this interesting agroecosystem, but not
in relation to its composition and structure. Two collecting missions in Eastern
parts of Cuba (ES0UlVEL et al. 1987, 1988) gave the opportunity to study some
"conucos" in more detail.

Historical remarks

ORTIZ (1985) presents the most complete discussion about the lexicographic
meaning of the term "conuco". He cites some old documents from 1616 contain-
ing the order of the Government to increase the number of "conucos" for the
production of "casabe" (cassava bread), maize and bananas. Therefore, a Spa-
nish origin of this word is most likely. The Spanish suffix "uco" has a deminu-
tive meaning. The suffix was associated with the geometrical form of the promon-

I I n s t i t u t o de l n v e s t i g a c i o n e s F u n d a m e n t a l e s en A g r i c u l t u r a T r o p i c a l " A l e j a n d r o de
H u m b o l d t " , I N I F A T , M i n i s t e r i o de A g r i c u l t u r a , S a n t i a g o de las Vegas, C u b a
29"
452 Mlt;t'l.;l. I'-'S~,2t'IX'EL a n d KARL tlA.MMI'-R

tories used by the Indians in their tyi)ical planting method for roots and tubers.
The planting method of the promontories was substituted by the "camellones"
(continuous promontories), as explained by REYNOSO (1881), and the term "co-
nuco" changed its meaning from an agricultural method to a plantation name.
The term "conuco" has been also used for small fields which have been given
to the slaves by their owners. These "conucos" have I)een very important for
the subsistance of the slaves (BAI{XI~.T 1986). Also the escaped slaves (cimarro-
nes) created "conucos" around their "palenques", small villages in the forests,
where they practiced agriculture in an African way (FRAXCO 1073, ORTIZ 1975).
There is also some evidence for a possible African origin of the term "conuco".
ORTIZ (1985) states that " k o n u k o " comes from the Mandinga language. In this
language " n a k a n u k u " means legume and " n a k o " garden.
Another group of elements supports an Indian origin of the term. RIVERO
(1966) expressed the opinion that the Cuban Indians cultivated maize in a simi-
lar way as the Mayas of Yucatan, who planted this crop in small areas called
"conucos". TAmo and RI.:Y (1070) and (;UARCH (1078), studying the socio-econo-
mic structure of the Tainos in Cuba, came to the conclusion that, contrary to
the ideas expressed I)y the early ~-riters as e.g. FEI{N:(,XlOEZDE OVlEDO, the ori-
ginal Cuban agriculture was based on small plantations called "conucos". ORTIZ
(1985) supports a possible Aruak or Caribe origin (Aruak " k u n u k u " = f o r e s t ,
Caribe " k u n u k u " = plantation). \'ALI)t::S (1086) consideres "conuco" as an Aruak
term because in this language " k o n u k o " means forest. Therefore, it can be un-
derstood as plantation in the forest.
The discussion about the origin of the term "conuco" shows that it has been
used both for a planting method and a plantation. But always it has been asso-
ciated with subsistence agriculture.

Composition and structure of actual "conucos"

With tile objective to know the composition and structure of the actual "conu-
cos" a special study was made during our collecting mission in Eastern parts of
Cuba (EsQUIVF.L et al. 1988). An inventory of observed plants is presented in
tig. 1.
Conuco No. 1 Los Negritos. Banes, Holguin. Manuel Ricardo.
1200 m'-'. Situated in an area of sugar cane production.
As can be seen from fig. 2, this medium sized "conuco" consists of three parts.
The first one is the front garden used mainly for ornamental plants, e.g. Zin,lia
elega~zs, Kala~tchoe sp. The second part surrounds the house and reaches into the
backyard. Here, spice plants as Capsic~m frutesce~s and some fruit trees as An,,o-
~za squ.amosa or Persea america~ta are grown. The area of main production fol-
lows as a third part, sul)divided into fields for maize, the primary crop, inter-
croppings with tubers and roots as Ipomoea balalas and ~'lIara~ta aru~Mi.nacea
and other plants like bananas. As a fence, a row of Euphorbia laclea is planted
(fig. 3). These strong living fences are typical for the "conucos" to prevent ani-
mals from entering the garden (HA.~I.~IER1988).
Tile "COl'lI1¢0'' 453

Benincasa hispida zY Colocasia esculenta (~

Citrullus lanatus o -~ Manihot esculenta (~

Cucurbita moschata c~ Maranta arundinacea

lpomoea batatas Musa sp. (~

\igna unguiculata Xanthosoma sagittifolium

Canavalia gladiata % Abelmoschus esculentus @

1)ioscorea alata Cajanus cajan @

l.ablab purpuret,s Capsicu nl annut~nl ~)

1'haseolus hmat us Capsicum frutescens @

Clerodendron speciosissimum @

m l ' ! l l O n ; I , s q ll ~.il l l O S a @ Coffea arabica

Bixa oreltana ® Croton lobatus @
Carica papaya
f; l'~uphorbia lactea @

Citrus aurantium @ Helianthus annuus (~

Citrus limon @ l.agerstroemia indica @

Cocos nucifera Lippia alba @

X
l)ehmix regia ® l.ycopersicon esculentum (~

Mangifera indica @ Mentha spicata @

] )crsea americana ® Nerium oleander @

Psidium guajava ® Ocimumbasilicum @
Terminalia catappa ® Rosa sp. (~
Citrus aurantiifolia @ Russetia equisetiformis @
454 MIGt'F.L ESQt'IVEL and KARL HAMMER

Vitex negundo

Ananas comosus "~

7c3romelia pinguin ¢:~

Allium ampeloprasum (~) Chrvsanthen~um indict, m •

Allium ccpa Q~) I(alanchoe sp. C)

Allium sativum C) Polianthes tuberosa ~.

Canna indica {~ Saccharum sp.

Impatiens balsamina ®
Zca mavs /

Zinnia elegans (~)

Fig. 1 Inventory of the "conuco" plants with their symbols used for the garden plans

Conuco No. 2 La Cuexdta, Arroyo Seco. Mayarl, Holguin. Veronico Pupo.

10 000 m -~. Situated near Mayari river. Isolated.
This big "conuco" (figs. 4 and 5) is very isolated. Therefore, the owner tries to
produce all crops necessary for his life. This "conuco" has four separated fields,
the first of which is for the production of sugar cane mainly for feeding the ani-
mals but also for eventual preparation of "guarapo" (sugar cane juice). The se-
cond one is an intercropped area of maize, cassava and sweet potatoes with some
plants of Abelmoschus esculentu, s. The third part is planted with maize only. It
differs from the first one in planting date. In this way the consumption period of
unripe maize cobs is extended. The fourth part is more complicated. It is a clas-
sical "conuco" of " t u m b a y quema" (slash and burn) situated on a slope and
reaches into the virgin forest (fig. 6). The ashes of the burning process are consid-
ered as a good fertilizer. This field is planted with a rich intercropping of maize,
lima beans, pumpkins, taro, pineapples and other plants. Climbing plants as
lima beans are covering the vestiges of big trees. Pumpkins and other plants
grown on the slope help to avoid soil erosion. Some larger fruit trees as coco-
nuts, mangos ot avocados give shade to the house. For the living fence " m a y a "
(Bromelia pinguin) is planted, known in the Western parts of Cuba as "pifia
de rat6n".
Conuco No. 3 Arroyo Blanco. Mayari, Holguln. Unknown owner.
1 200 m 2. Located at the border of a small village, with sugar
cane as the primary crop.
The "conuco" 4-55

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456 .~IIGUI-L ]~SQUIVEL and KARL HAMMER

Fig. 3 F r o n t view of "conuco" No. 1 with a living fence of Euphorbia lactea

Fig. 4 Overview of "conuco" No. 2 from the highest point of the garden

This is a typical medium-sized "cunoco" for "viandas" (see ESQUIVEL et al.

1988). The main characteristic of this "conuco" (fig. 7) is the high plant density,
which allows an effective utilization of the area. Larger plants, e.g. bananas, are
grown separately to avoid too much shade for other crops (cassava, pumpkins),
which are intercropped. Interestingly, maize was not intercropped, possibly to
The "conuco" 457

6'gi6~

-,i
b'
100 rn

lrig. 5 " C o n u c o " No. 2, La Ct, e v i t a

secure optimal pollination. For tile fence Bromclia pingz~i~ is planted. There was
another area formerly used for vegetable production. In this year vegetables
could not be grown because it was too dry.
Conuco No. 4 Baitiquiri. San Antonio del Sur, C,uant/mamo. Miguel Ramirez.
625 m'-'. Located in the Baitiquiri village, near the road from
Guant(mamo to Baracoa.
This small "conuco" (fig. 8) shows another distribution of the crops. The house
is situated in the central part. Therefore, the front garden became another pro-
duction area. Here, bananas are the main crop interplanted with some other
plants (e.g. Vigna sp.). Around the house there are intercroppings with bananas,
sweet potatoes and lima beans. The back part contains plots of Cajan~s cajan
458 5IIGUEL ESQUIVEL and KARL HAMMER

Fig.(i " C o n u c o " No. 2 reaches into the virgin forest

and cassava. The fence is made from wooden sticks which provide support for
climbers as lima beans and Lablab purp,t.re,t.s. Some plants showed severe mor-
phological modification because of drought and salinity.

T h e o r i g i n of s o m e "conuco" plants

In order to know the contribution of the different regions of diversity to the

actual composition the species are grouped according to these regions mainly
using the book of ZEVEN and DE WET (1982) as well as some other sources. In
table 1 only the up to now known original regions of diversity are considered.
They are not always identical with the areas from which the plants came to
Cuba, e.g. Benincasa hispida came to the country with Chinese immigrants
("pepino chino", "calabaza china") but the region of primary diversity is Indo-
china-Indonesia.
From the table it is evident that crops from nearly all regions of diversity can
be found in the "conucos'. Of course, the highest importance for human alimen-
tation have the crops from Central and South America.
Some authors as MACKIE (1943) and VOYSEST (1983) when studying the disper-
sal of Phaseohts species came to the conclusion t h a t these crops arrived to Cuba
from Mexico and then migrated to South America via the Antilles arc. Their
theories were based on the generalized idea of frequent Indian contact between
Cuba and Mexico. According to the actual archeological knowledge (GUARCH,
pers. comm.) the pre-Columbian agricultural contacts between Mexico and Cuba
The "c,muco" 450

, )/ Y,

ecY

~c< j U U S*

VEGETABLES

() . . . . 5 . . . . 1()m
Fig. 7 " C o n u c o " No. 3 in . \ r r o v o B l a n c o

have no confirmed evidences. The Taino Indians were the only agriculturists
in Cuba and their distribution was limited to the Eastern provinces. Even if
some cultivated plants should have been introduced from Mexico there were no
agriculturists in Western Cuba to take them over. Another interesting fact is
concerning Phaseolus lunatus, the species studied by ~ACKIE (1943). This spe-
460 MH;t'FL I'St~t'lVEL a n d KARL HAMMER

............ ~ .... -=:7~. . . . , :=.-. . . . . . ~< .. . . . . . . . . . . . . a. . . . . . . : . . - ) ~. a~

,. c(
-'~
" .7,,~
- " at~a~
. ., . . . . . . . . ~t

=~! 2.
I , --.\ ,~x) l

J® 0 ® " e ~ I " "~

. . . . . . . . . . . . . L . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5 10m

Fig. S "Conuco" No. 4 in Baitiquirl

Table 1
( ' o m p o s i t i o u of ( ' n b a n "COIIIICON" COllsidt, r i n g tilt' r e g i o n s of d i v e r s i t y (ZI.:VI.:N a n d tH.: \Vl.:l"
10S2) of t h e i r c u l t i v a t e d t ) l a n t s t

]?.t'giou lk, r c e n t a g c . f Crops

species from
lhe region

()t.ntr;tl A m e r i c a n And 33 " . .]laran/a arundinacea I.., .\anthoso-

Mexican Region ma saA,ittifolium (I..) S c l m t t , C u c u r -
bita moschata ( l ) u c h . e x Lain.}
l h i c h , e x ]'oir., P h a s e o l u s lunatus
I.., B i x a o r e l l a n a I.., C a p s i c u m a n -
n u u m 1_, C a p s i c u m frutescens I..,
l.ippia alba (Mill.) N. E. Br., Lvco-
p c r s i c . , esculentum Mill., A n a n a s c o -
mosus (l.,) .Merrill, Z e a m a y s 1..,
.4 nnona squamosa I .., P e r s e a a m e r i -
c a n a Mill., Hromelia pingttin 1.., l'o-
lianlht's tuberosa l.., Rltsselia equiseti-
Jormis S c h l c c h t . c t C h a i n . , Z i n n i a
elegans j a c q . , Croton lobalus 1..,
Psidium quajava I..

1 n d o c h i n e s e - 1 n d o n t , s i a n l¢.eRion 1(~ t' . Musa spp., Henincasa hispida

( T h u n b . ) C o g n . , Canavalia gladiata
( J a c q . ) l)C., D i o s c o r e a alata L,
CiD.us s p p . , "Ferminalia catappa l..,
Saccharum s p p . , Clerodendro. spe-
ciosissimum V a n ( ; e e r t , Cocos nuci-
]era 1..

African Region 12 °' 0 Citrullus lanatus ( T h u n b . ) M a t s . e t N a -

kai, V i ~ n a unguieulata (L.) \ V M p . ,
T h e "COtlIWO" 461

Continued table 1

Region l'ercentage of Crops

species from
the region

l.ablab purpureus (I..) Sweet, A b e l -

m o s c h u s e s c u l e n t u s (L.) Moench,
Coffea arabica l.., l-uphorbia lactea
Flaw., Kalanchoe spp.
Hindustani l(egion 12 ". Colocasia esculenta (I..) Schott, M a n -
g i f e r a i n d i c a L., C a j a n u s c a j a n (L.)
H uth, E u p h o r b m nivulia Buch.-Ham.,
O c i m u m basilicum L., Lagerstroemia
indica L., I'itex negundo 1_

South American Region 0 I~ I1 M a n i h o t e s c u l e n t a Crantz, I p o -

m o e a b a t a t a s (L.) l.am., Phaseolus
vulgaris I.., C a r l c a p a p a y a L., Canna
indica I..

Mediterranean Region 4 "0 31entha spicata I.. em. 1.,, A'erium

oleander l..

Chinese-Japanese Region 4 n h n p a t i e n s balsamina L., Chrysan-

themum indicum I..

Central Asian Region 4 I)'lb .4llium cepa I . . . . 4Ilium sativum L.

European-Siberian Region 2 % Rosa spp,

Near Eastern Region 2 o d l l i u m ampeloprasum L.

North American Region O' llelianthus a n n u u s L.

I Species printed in bold face have been reported bv different authors as growing in "conu-
COS"

cies is characteristic for traditional agriculture in Cuba. Its greatest variation is

c o n c e n t r a t e d almost o n l y in the E a s t e r n provinces, in a g r e e m e n t with the distri-
b u t i o n of the Talno culture. Nevertheless, after the Conquest, a large influence
is more likely because, as s t a t e d b y V:~CD~S (1978), Cuba was not only the s t a r t -
ing point for the Conquest of Mexico but also the confluence area for ships re-
t u r n i n g from there to Spain.
A direct i n p u t from S o u t h America is most likely, because the Taino I n d i a n s
belong to the A r u a k tribe, which, s t a r t i n g from the Orinoco forests, m i g r a t e d to the
N o r t h e r n coast of Venezuela and arrived to the B a h a m a s via the Antilles arc.
T h e agriculture of the T a i n o s was based on cassava. This is t y p i c a l for some In-
dians in G u y a n a and o t h e r A r u a k descendants, too. Also in maize there are s3me
similarities between races from Cuba and material from South America, because
the "criollo" t y p e s (see ESQUIVEC et al. 1988) are v e r y close to the tropical flints
of Venezuela.
462 Ml~;t~V:l. I'2S~2t:IVELand KARL HAMMER

The " c o n u c o s " t o d a y contain a large d i v e r s i t y of species from m a n y regions

of the world. In m a n y cases there is also a variation within one species. There-
fore, the " c o n u c o s " can be considered as living genebanks.

Zusammenfassung

Der " C o n u c o " - ein b e d e u t e n d e s Reservoir ffir pflanzliche genetische Ressour-

cen in K u b a

Der kubanische ,,Conuco" ist ein gr/')13erer Garten oder ein kleineres Feld mit
traditioneller landwirtschaftlicher P r o d u k t i o n . Die Geschichte des ,,Conuco"
wird diskutiert. Z u s a m m e n s e t z u n g und S t r u k t u r aktueller ,,Conucos" werden
auI der ( ; r u n d l a g e yon vier o s t k u h a n i s c h e n ausgewiihlten Fallbeispielen beschrie-
ben. Ihre K u l t u r p f l a n z e n s t a m m e n beinahe aus allen Mannigfaltigkeitszentren
der Welt. Besonders b e d e u t s a m sitad die K u t t u r p f l a n z e n der m i t t e l a m e r i k a n i -
sehen und mexikanischen Region. Die groBe Mannigfaltigkeit unterschiedlicher
F r u c h t a r t e n und die ausgepr~igte infraspezifische Variabilit~it bei den meisten
l,~ulturpflanzen unterstreichen die B e d e u t u n g des ,,Conuco" als Reservoir ffir
t)flanzliche genetisehe Ressourcen.

HpaTKoe eoRepa~anue

"]{ouym," -- Baa¢tleiimttii itCTOtlqHK paeTltTedlhtlhiX relieTuqe('nilx peeypc(m t{y6~

] { y 6 i i t i e l ~ o e " ] { O l l y l ~ o " - ,~T(I itTtlt l-:pytliiblii ('aA It:lit lle(io:Ibliloe lloJie C Tpa~i.ll0ittOH-
IIhIM (!O,rIl,Ol,~OXO3~lii('TBellllblM IIpl)II3B(I.;I.CTBOM. 0i'ieym~aemeR llCTOplt~-I "K0ttyH0".
CocTal~ 1I cTpyl~Typa conpe,~ieHHhtx "t{(mytm" onnchmaeTcn ila octlo~e 4-x ilpitMepoa,
c,,lyqaiino t~hlGpatltlhlX n t~OCTOqltOii 0(;,'taCT|~ ]'{y61,l. IIx l<yabTypHhm pacTeHna npone-
XO,~YIT llOqTlt |I3 BeeX rett-IletlTpOn i n p a . OeoSemto BSH{HhIMH HBJIHIOTCH gydtbTypHMe
pa(.Tetltt~ lteltTpaamlo-alepnHatlemtx n MeHclIHaHCHItX peruoHom ]3oabmoe paa-
ltoo6paalle paaanqtlMX BIt}lOB ~)pyHTOa it qeTHO Bl,lpamellHa~[ BHyTpHBIUtOBaFIII3MeH-
MIIBOCTb y (~O~II,ILIIItlOTBa ]¢yabTypHblX paCTeHtlii noiiqeplcHBaJOT 3ltaqeHlle "]{OHyHO"
Kat~ peaepayapa pacTllTe:lbtilaX retteTltqecl~ltx pecypcoB.

Literature

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ESQUIVEL, ~ , , L. CASTII~,EIRAS, B. t~.ODRfGUEZ and K. HAMMER, 1987: Collecting plant
genetic resources in Cuba. - Kulturpflanze 35, 367-378.
- , T. SHAGARODSKY, K. KRIEGHOFF, B. RODRIGUEZ and K. HAMMER, 1988: Collecting
plant genetic resources in Cuba. Report on the second mission, 1986. - Kulturpflanze 36,
437-449.
FRANCe, J. L., 1973 : Los palenques de los negros cimarrones. - Colecci6n Historia, D.O.R.,
P.C.C., La Habana, 116 pp.
GUARCH, J. M., 1978: El TMno de Cuba: ensayo de reconstrucci6n etno-hist6rica. - Aca-
demia de Ciencias de Cuba, La Habana, 130 pp.
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H AMMI-R, K., 1988: K u b a n i s c h e l m p r e s s i o n e n (1). t l e c k e n p f l a n z e n . - l q a k t e e n S u k k u l e n -

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t u s ) . - H i l g a r d i a 150 1 - 2 9 .
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R.EYXOSO, A., 1881 : La A g r i c u l t u r a de los i n d i g e n a s tie C u b a v Haiti. - Paris.
t~Avv:Ro Dr LA CALLIL .M., 1966: I.as e u t t u r a s a b o r i g e n e s d e C u b a ; e s t u d i o h i s t d r i c o - e t n o -
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234 pp.
VALDI~S, S., 1978: I n d o a m e r i c a n i s m o s no a r u a c o s en el espafiol tie Cuba. - Ed. Ciencias
Sociales, La H a b a n a , 80 pp.
--, 1986: La e v o l u c i d n d e los i n d o a m e r i c a n i s m o s en el espafiol h a b l a d o en C u b a . -- E d .
Ciencias Sociales, La H a b a n a , 185 pp.
VOYSh~ST, O., 1983 : \ ' a r i e d a d e s de frijol en A m 6 r i c a l . a t i n a y su origen. - C I A T , Cali, ,'17 pp.
ZEw-:N, A. C. a n d J. M. DE \VET, 1982: l ) i c t i o n a r v of c u l t i v a t e d p l a n t s a n d t h e i r r e g i o n s of
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1)r. 1(. HA.~tMER

Z e n t r a l i n s t i t u t fiir G e n e t i k und K u l t u r p f l a n z e n f o r s c h u n g
d e r A k a d e m i e d e r \ V i s s e n s c h a f t e n der l ) l ) R
Corrensstral3e 3
Gatersleben
D D R - 4325