Assesment of Cocoa Genotypes for Quantitative Pod Traits

Yield related traits in 20 cocoa genotypes were investigated to determine suitable parental genotypes for yield improvement programmes in cocoa. Fifteen uniformly ripe pods were collected for pod and bean characteristic assessment from twenty genotypes in an existing cocoa hybrid trial research plot laid out in a randomized complete block design with six replications at the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN), Ibadan, Nigeria. Seven quantitative data on the pods were subjected to statistical analysis. The 20 genotypes differed significantly (P < 0.001) for the seven traits. Performances of the genotypes ranged as: pod weight (175.40 – 620.50 g), pod length (11.30 – 20.10 cm), pod width (6.37 – 8.90 cm), pod thickness (0.73 – 1.65 cm), number of beans per pod (20 - 52), weight of beans per pod (27.33–119.67 g) and dry weight of hundred beans (52.33 – 115 g). Positive and significant (P < 0.001) correlation existed between pod weight and length, pod width, pod thickness and weight of beans per pod. The range of broad sense heritability was between 56.13 (number of beans per pod) to 81.76 (dry weight of hundred beans). About 86% of the total variation was explained by the first three principal component axes and four distinct groups emerged from the clustering technique. Results show significant (P<0.05) intra-cluster variability of the seven traits and that choosing genotypes G3 (T65/7 x T9/15), G5 (P7 x T60/887), G6 (P7 x PA150), G15 (T86/2 x T22/28) and G16 (T82/27 x T12/11) as parents in future yield improvement programmes will enhance cocoa productivity in Nigeria.