Relationships among Bean Yield Traits in Some Cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) Genotypes

Abstract

Cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) produces the cocoa bean, a major foreign exchange earner for most West African countries and many smallholders’ enterprise. Ample production of cacao is however limited by declining yield among other factors. This study aimed at determining the correlations of the phenotypic traits that were related to the yield of the cacao genotypes. Nine new cacao hybrids were produced from some high-yielding parents in the research farm of Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria, Ibadan and evaluated from 2012 through 2014 in Owena (7°11′ N, 5°1′ E), Ondo state, Nigeria. Analysis of variance, character correlations and path coefficient analysis were used in the analysis of the relationships among the genotypes. Analysis of variance revealed significant (p ≤ 0.05) variations for number of rows, weight of beans per fruit, fresh weight of one bean, weight of one bean after fermentation, pod value, dry bean length, weight of beans (per fruit) after fermentation and pod index. The study concluded that significant genotypic and phenotypic correlations existed among some of the pairs of the fruit and bean characters with one another and with pod index, suggesting that the contribution of these characters is either positive or negative to growth and yield in the cacao genotype, and that fruit and bean traits are determinants of bean yield in cacao.