A survey of barbadine cultivation in Trinidad revealed that this crop was largely cultivated in a traditional backyard manner despite the existence of a market for the fresh fruit and processed barbadine products. Lack of sound agronomic practices, poor marketing facilities and the traditional trellis system employed by farmers are the main factors hindering large scale commercialization of this crop. A vertical trellis system which was compared to a horizontal trellis system was evaluated over a period of two years. A vertical system facilitates high density planting (2,000 plants per hectare), intercropping, and minimizes the drudgery of normal cultural practices, among other advantages. A comparison of the production costs and yield of the vertical versus the horizontal trellis system supports the conclusion that the vertical system lends itself to intensive and sustainable cultivation of barbadine.