ABSTRACT
The local cacao varieties prevalent in the Atlantic Forest region in Bahia, Brazil, have been multiplied by farmers with seedlings produced by the most productive plants. However, these plants have not been evaluated for resistance to Ceratocystis wilt. Thus, in the present study, the resistance levels of different genotypes of local cacao varieties were assessed, aimed at their use in breeding for resistance to this disease. Leaf disks from 119 cacao genotypes, locally named as varieties ‘Common’ (49 genotypes), ‘Maranhão’ (34), and ‘Pará’ (36), were inoculated with Ceratocystis cacaofunesta. Based on the mean number of perithecia formed on those disks, different cacao genetic groups were defined according to the Scott-Knott test. For the three varieties, most genotypes were classified together with the resistance control variety (‘Jaca’), while less than one third of the genotypes were classified together with the susceptible control (CCN51). Therefore, there is variability for resistance to Ceratocystis wilt among the local cacao varieties, and resistant genotypes will be useful in breeding aimed at resistance to this disease.
Keywords
Ceratocystis cacaofunesta
; genetic improvement; farm selection; pathogen;
Theobroma cacao
Thumbnail
Fonte: dados desta pesquisa.