Selection of self-compatible progenies of high productivity cocoa in the Ecuadorian coast

Resumo

Cocoa in Ecuador is one of the main crops of economic importance, mainly for small and medium farmers on the coast. Sexual self-compatibility is one of the most important criteria for the selection of clonal plants from members of hybrid progeny. Trees with higher levels of self-compatibility are those that tend to produce earlier compared to self-compatible ones. The study consisted of selecting 333 trees from a group of 71 hybrid progenies, based on selection criteria such as productivity and health during 5 years of evaluation (2002-2007) and thus determining the level of self-compatibility per individual within a group of hybrid progenies. of cocoa, estimate the level of self-compatibility of the hybrid progeny under study and its relationship with yield and select self-compatible trees with high productivity. Binomial test was used, which determined a minimum of 30% of successful pollinations. The 0.05% probability level was considered as the compatibility threshold of each tree. For hybrid progenies, at least 70% of their individuals must present this characteristic, for which data were recorded at three, seven and fifteen days respectively, in order to have more precision in the process of fruit initial development and performance. The results showed that there was a wide variability regarding the self-compatibility level of the individuals within all the studied families. Only 3 of 71 studied families had a sufficient number of self-compatible individuals to be classified likewise. However, their average performance was not necessarily superior to other families that were self-compatible. On the other hand, it could also be confirmed that the compatibility of a tree, clone or cross can change its percentage of fertilization according to time and environmental conditions.