Variability in genetic resources of cacao in Rondônia, Brazil

Abstract

The limited genetic variation exploited in improvement results in a narrowing of the genetic base and vulnerability of the crop. Breeders should therefore be provided with information on the variability available in germplasm banks. In this study, 207 clone accessions of the cacao genebank were evaluated for five periods for the mean fruit weight, mean weight of wet seeds fruit-1, mean number of normal seeds fruit-1, mean individual wet and mean individual dry seed weight. Data means were subjected to uni- and multivariate analyses. The accessions presented highly significant differences for the five traits, indicating expressive variability. Genotypes of interest were identified for the improvement program of cacao in Rondônia, especially to raise the yield. The accessions EEOP 3, EEOP 5, MA 12, RO 263, RO 265, and STM 66/04 were outstanding for most traits.