ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Selecting cacao clones with high productivity potential and tolerance to Black Pod Rot (Phytophthora sp.) and Frosty Pod Rot (Moniliophthora roreri)
1
Cacao and Agroforestry Program, Honduran Foundation for Agricultural Research (FHIA), La Lima Cortés, Honduras, 2067
A - Research concept and design; B - Collection and/or assembly of data; C - Data analysis and interpretation; D - Writing the article; E - Critical revision of the article; F - Final approval of article
Submission date: 2024-11-23
Acceptance date: 2025-05-09
Online publication date: 2025-12-11
Corresponding author
Marlon Enrique Enrique López Torres
Cacao and Agroforestry Program, Honduran Foundation for Agricultural Research (FHIA), La Lima Cortés, Honduras, 2067
Cacao and Agroforestry Program, Honduran Foundation for Agricultural Research (FHIA), La Lima Cortés, Honduras, 2067
HIGHLIGHTS
- Utilizing the DPI enables breeders and producers to select new cacao clones
- Cacao yield is influenced by genetics, diseases, and environmental factors
- Phytophthora can be more aggressive than moniliasis in a cacao system production
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Cacao (Theobroma cacao) is significantly impacted each year by Frosty Pod Rot (FPR)
caused by Moniliophthora roreri and Black Pod Rot (BPR) caused by Phytophthora species.
The losses from these diseases pose a severe threat to cacao production worldwide. Consequently,
cacao breeding programs focus on developing new clones that demonstrate high
productivity potential and disease resistance. However, achieving this goal is challenging
due to the lengthy selection process, the influence of environmental conditions on disease
severity, and the need to avoid chemical control methods. Genetic resistance is, therefore,
the most viable option for selecting and introducing new cacao clones to farmers. In this
study, 40 cacao clones were evaluated from 2013 to 2017, with 20 clones sourced from the
“Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza” (CATIE) breeding program
and 20 from the Fundación Hondureña de Investigación Agrícola (FHIA) breeding program.
Three criteria were employed for clone selection: yield, percentage of diseased pods
(PDP), and disease and production index (DPI). The results indicated that, depending on
the objectives of the breeding program, these criteria can effectively be used to select new
cacao clones that are both highly productive and disease-resistant. It was noted that cacao
clones with high productivity are not always the most resistant to diseases, and vice versa.
However, by combining these criteria, it is possible to identify cacao clones exhibiting high
productivity potential and resistance to FPR and BPR.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author wishes to thank the financial support of
the “Programa Cacao Centro América” (PCC) project
funded by Norwegian International Cooperation in
Central America. The author also acknowledges the
Honduran Foundation for Agricultural Research
(FHIA) and Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación
y Enseñanza (CATIE)’s scientific staff for helping
develop this project.
RESPONSIBLE EDITOR
Assunta Bertaccini
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors have declared that no conflict of interests exist.
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