The minimum harvest period for evaluating cacao cultivars was investigated. 'Maranhão', 'Pará', 'Parazinho' (non-improved local cultivars) and ehte open-pollinated 'ICS 1' and the commercial hybrid mixture (improved cultivars) were evaluated in a 5 x 5 Latin square design containing 196-plant plots, during 10 years (1984-1993). The number of healthy fruits per plant (NHFP) and the wet seed weight per hectare (WSWH) and per fruit (WSWF) were the yield components evaluated. The combination of the first six and eight years of successive harvests for NHFP and WSWH, respectively, was shown to be necessary for cultivar evaluation, when correlation analyses between annual yields and accumulated yield in the decennium were performed. Extensive variability, superior performance in post-climax (1989-1993) and cultivar trends towards interaction with pre-climax age indicated that evaluation of Linhares cacao cultivars should be conducted only after the 8th year from planting.
Commercial cacao tree hybrid mixture and cultivars; minimum harvest period; correlation coefficient; Theobroma cacao L
