Abstract
Drought is the major abiotic stress limiting cocoa seedling survival during establishment. The level of genetic variation and relationship among traits related to drought tolerance were examined in a 6 × 6 incomplete diallel and 8 × 3 incomplete factorial mating designs for parents of diverse genetic groups. Thirty-eight families, 23 from the diallel and 15 from the factorial mating were evaluated in 2012/13 major dry season under shade and no-shade locations. Six-month old seedlings were planted in a randomized complete block design with two replications consisting of 24 plants per plot. Traits related to drought tolerance including stem growth, percentage survival, leaf chlorophyll content and plant vigour were monitored. Analysis of the 38 families showed highly significant (P ≤ 0.01) variation for families, replications, locations and location × family interaction for most of the traits. Preponderance of additive effects was manifested in terms of significant GCA when genetic analysis of the diallel was performed. Heritability was moderate to high (h 2b = 0.43–0.63) for broad sense and low to moderate (h 2n = 0.25–0.57) for narrow sense. Clones PA 13 and AMAZ 15/15 had positive GCA effects, whereas PA 150 and T60/887 had negative GCA effects for most traits. The highest genotypic correlations were between survival and vigour. Results from the study indicate that there is considerable genetic variation for traits related to drought tolerance in the available germplasm, and the families of some specific clones are able to survive droughts under typical field conditions in Ghana.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abdul-Karima A, Adomako B, Adu-Ampomah Y (2006) Cocoa introduction into Ghana. Ghana J Agric Sci 39:227–238
Acheampong K, Hadley P, Daymond AJ (2013) Photosynthetic activity and early growth of four cacao genotypes as influenced by different shade regimes under West Africa dry and wet season conditions. Expl Agric 49:31–42
Beer J, Muschler R, Kass D, Somarriba E (1998) Shade management in cocoa and coffee plantations. Agrofor Syst 38:139–164
Condit R, Hubbell SP, Foster RB (1995) Mortality rates of 205 neotropical tree and shrub species and the impact of severe drought. Ecol Monogr 65:419–439
Davies WJ (1976) Stomatal responses to water stress and light in plants grown in controlled environments and in the field. Crop Sci 17:735–740
Daymond AJ, Hadley P (2004) The effects of temperature and light integral on early vegetative growth and chlorophyll fluorescence of four contrasting genotypes of cacao (Theobroma cacao). Ann Appl Biol 145:257–262
Engelbrecht BMJ, Kuesar TA (2003) Comparative drought-resistance of seedlings of 28 species of co-occurring tropical woody plants. Oecologia 136:383–393
Frimpong EB, Adu-Ampomah Y, Karimu A (1999) Effort to breed for drought resistant cocoa in Ghana. In: Proceedings of the 12th international cocoa research conference, pp 375–381
Galyuon IKA, McDavid CR, Lopez FB, Spence JA (1996) The effect of irradiance level on cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.): II. Gas exchange and chlorophyll fluorescence. Trop Agric (Trinidad) 73:29–33
Griffing B (1956) Concept of general and specific combining ability in relation to a diallel crossing system. Aust J Biol Sci 9:463–493
Groeneveld JH, Tscharntke T, Moser G, Clough Y (2010) Experimental evidence for stronger cacao yield limitation by pollination than by plant resources. Perspectives in Plant Ecology. Evol Syst 12:183–191
GSS (2008) Ghana living standards survey report of the fifth round (GLSS 5). Ghana Statistical Service. http://www.statsghana.gov.gh/docfiles/glss5_report.pdf. Accessed 1 June 2014
International Cocoa Organization (ICCO), (2013) Quarterly bulletin of cocoa statistics, vol XXXIX, No. 4, Cocoa year 2012/13
Lachenaud Ph, Montagnon C (2002) Competition effects in cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) hybrid trials. Euphytica 128:97–104
Laderach P, Eitzinger A, Armando M, Castro N (2011) Predicting the impact of climate change on the cocoa growing regions in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. www.eenews.net/assets/2011/10/03
Lockwood G, Gyamfi MMO (1979) The CRIG cocoa germplasm collection with notes oncodes used in the breeding programme at Tafo and elsewhere. Technical Bulletin No 10
Martinez DE, Guiamet JJ (2003) Distortion of the SPAD 502 chlorophyll meter readings by changes in irradiance and leaf water status. Agronomie 24:41–46
Mielke MS, De Almeida AAF, Gomes FP (2005) Photosynthetic rates of five neotropical inforest treespecies: interactions between light response curves and leaf-to-air vapour pressure deficit. Braz Arch Biol Technol 48:815–824
Motamayor JC, Lachenaud P, Mota SJW, Loor R, Kuhn DN, Brown S, Schnell RJ (2008) Geographic and Genetic Population Differentiation of the Amazonian Chocolate Tree (Theobroma cacao L). PLoS ONE 3:10
Okali DUU, Owusu JK (1975) Growth analysis and photosynthetic rates of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) seedlings in relation to varying shade and nutrient regimes. Ghana J Agric Sci 8:51–67
Opeke LK, Toxopeus H (1967) Preliminary studies on the yield and establishment of WACRI Series I and II cacao varieties in Western Nigeria. Niger Agric J 4:22–27
Oppong FK, Opuku-Ameyaw K, Osei-Bonsu K, Amoah FM, Brew KM, Acheampong K (1999) The effect of time of planting at stake on cocoa seedling survival. Ghana J Agric Sci 32:79–86
Padi FK, Adu-Gyamfi P, Akpertey A, Arthur A, Ofori A (2013) Differential response of cocoa (Theobroma cacao) families to field establishment stress. Plant Breed 132:229–236
Toxopeus H (1968) Establishment of cacao clones in Nigeria. Euphytica 17:38–45
Toxopeus H (1985) Botany, types and populations. In: Wood GAR, Lass RA (eds) Cocoa. Blackwell Science, Oxford, pp 11–37
Ukai Y (2006) DIAL98 Statistical software, Ver. 6. DIAL98. Japan
Valle RR, de Almeida AAF, O Leite RM (1990) Energy costs of flowering, fruiting, and cherrelle wilt in cacao. Tree Physiol 6:329–336
Wang JP, Bughrara SS (2008) Evaluation of drought tolerance for Atlas fescue, perennial ryegrass, and their progeny. Euphytica 164:113–122
Acknowledgments
We wish to thank Mr. Nsor Atibila of the Agronomy Division of CRIG for his technical assistance. We also want to thank all the Field and Technical staff of Plant Breeding Division of CRIG especially Robert Dorbgadzi for their support and assistance. This work is published with the kind permission of the Executive Director of Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana as manuscript number CRIG/03/2013/024/004.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ofori, A., Padi, F.K., Acheampong, K. et al. Genetic variation and relationship of traits related to drought tolerance in cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) under shade and no-shade conditions in Ghana. Euphytica 201, 411–421 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10681-014-1228-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10681-014-1228-8