Caracterización morfoagronómica in situ de cacao criollo (Theobroma cacao L.) en lugares de prevalencia natural y su incidencia en la selección de germoplasma promisorio en El Salvador

Abstract

The objective is identify and characterize promising Creole cacao trees, in situ morphoagronomic characterization was developed in the period from July 2016 to July 2017. This work included tours in places of natural prevalence of the species, in various locations in El Salvador, characterizing 47 cocoa trees located in the municipalities of San Luis Talpa and San Pedro Nonualco, La Paz; Arcatao, Chalatenango; Tenancingo, Cuscatlan and Ciudad Delgado, San Salvador. Qualitative and quantitative attributes of each tree and its segments were specified: leaves, flowers, fruits, and seeds. For the characterization, morpho-agronomic descriptors proposed by the Cocoa Research Unit -University of West Indians (Trinidad and Tobago), the National Institute of Agricultural and Livestock Forestry Research (INIFAP) and the National Institute of Agricultural Research (INIA) were used. The interpretation of data was done through simple statistics and multivariate analysis using the SPSS program version 23. The main components analysis was identified 11 conglomerates that gathered characteristics of 27 trees. Ten cocoa trees with characteristics of the “Creole of fine aroma” type were found, with fruit with angoleta and cundeamor forms, 100% of white seeds and fat content less than 50%. There were also four trees with more than 50% fat content in the seeds. These promising characteristics found show that these trees should be included in production programs, human nutrition and genetic improvement. Finally a catalog of the characterized trees was elaborated.