Influence of Environmental Factors on Cacao Biometric Attributes

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the influence of different sites of cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) cultivartion, represented by different soils and cropping systems, on biometrics attributes of pods and beans. The 12 study sites are in the cacao region of Bahia, Brazil, in the humid zone. The variation and the statistical differences between the means of these attributes clearly indicate the influence of genotype and environment interaction. Attributes pod wet biomass, beans with mucilage wet biomass and number of beans were positively correlated with the cultivation sites represented by Argisol Red-Yellow Eutrophic cambisolic and Argisol Red-Yellow Dystrophic Cohesive abrupt soils. The highest values of length and dry weight of dry cacao beans correspond to Argisol Red-Yellow Eutrophic cambisolic. The dystrophic soils are related to lower dry weight values of cacao beans. The selection of cacao cropping sites by biometric attributes also highlighted the Argisol Red-Yellow Eutrophic cambisolic and Argisol Red-Yellow Dystrophic Cohesive abrupt soils. Understanding the variability of cacao biometric attributes emphasizes the importance of using technologies for achieving sustainable production of cacao with quality.

Cacao quality index for cacao agroecosystems in Bahia, Brazil

“…[15] Each study site with approximately one hectare was subdivided into three collection areas, characterized by the same soil type and cropping site. Each single sample (three for study site) corresponds to 50 mature cacao pods, for the post-harvest processing of fermentation and drying, completely described in the works of Loureiro et al [16] and Loureiro et al [17] Cacao sampling occurred on November of 2008. This month was chosen because it is representative of the second harvest period (August 2008 to January 2009).…”