Journal of
Horticulture and Forestry

  • Abbreviation: J. Hortic. For.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 2006-9782
  • DOI: 10.5897/JHF
  • Start Year: 2009
  • Published Articles: 314

Full Length Research Paper

Vegetative propagation of cocoa (Theobroma cacao) by grafting: Aptitude of grafting on four clones

Tchatchoua Dorothy Tchapda
  • Tchatchoua Dorothy Tchapda
  • The National Advanced School of Engineering (ENSPM), University of Maroua BP. 46 Maroua, Cameroon.
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Essola, Essola Emmanuel Junior
  • Essola, Essola Emmanuel Junior
  • Institute of Agricultural Research for Development (IRAD) SODECAO Nkoemvone. P. O. Box 65 Ebolowa, South Region Cameroon.
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Caspa, Roseline Gusua
  • Caspa, Roseline Gusua
  • Institute of Agricultural Research for Development (IRAD). Forest and Wood Program, P. O. Box 2123 Nkolbisson, Yaounde Cameroon.
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Bondoa Bondoa Donalson
  • Bondoa Bondoa Donalson
  • The National Advanced School of Engineering (ENSPM), University of Maroua BP. 46 Maroua, Cameroon.
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  •  Received: 06 August 2023
  •  Accepted: 04 September 2023
  •  Published: 30 September 2023

Abstract

The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of hormones and fertilizers on the aptitude of grafting of four types of clones used in the seed fields for the creation, the regeneration, and the production of pods. The experimental design is a factorial trial (4 × 3 × 2 × 2) with hormone as the main block and other factors completely randomized within the blocks with three replicates. The aptitude of cocoa clones for grafting was assessed from 4320 grafted plants by recording survival rates, budding rates and number of leaves on a weekly basis from the 28th day after application of the hormones. Evaluation results indicated that there is a significant impact of clones, fertilizers, and grafting types on both the survival rate and growth parameters. Notably, the Trinitario ICS40 clone exhibited superior performance with an impressive 82.6% survival rate, a budding rate of 59.3%, and a total leaf count of 404. The different hormones did not have a significant impact on the measured parameters, whereas YaraMilla™ fertilizer demonstrated superior performance in enhancing the growth of grafted plants. Interestingly, side grafting displayed the highest survival rates (83.3, 69.4, 52.7 and 46.9% at 4 weeks, respectively) as well as a budding rate of 56%. However, it did not result in the highest number of leaves. This study represents the first report of grafting cocoa clones at the SODECAO experimental farm, and these findings open up possibilities for the propagation of disease-resistant clones.

Key words: Grafting, cocoa tree, Theobroma cacao, clone, hormone, fertilizer.