Abstract
Somatic embryogenesis is an in vitro clonal propagation method with potential to contribute to the improvement of cacao varieties. Before using this technology for commercial production, it is essential that somatic embryogenesis-derived plants be tested in field conditions. Therefore, we established a field test at Union Vale Estate, Saint Lucia. Thirty- to 50-yr-old trees were selected for clonal propagation as potentially high yielding based on local farmers observations. Clonal plants were propagated in vitro from immature flowers by embryogenesis and micropropagation. Multiple plants from nine genotypes were acclimated to greenhouse conditions then returned to Saint Lucia and planted in a field. Orthotropic rooted cuttings and locally propagated open pollinated seedlings were also planted for a total of 214 trees. Growth data were collected every 4–6 mo. including: stem diameter, stem height, length of the longest jorquette branch, number of jorquette branches, and dates of first flowering and fruiting. At 4.5 yr after planting in the field there were no major differences in all growth parameters among the propagation methods evaluated with exception of the orthotropic rooted cuttings. Trees grown from seeds were slightly taller then trees propagated by the other methods. Trees propagated as orthotropic rooted cuttings exhibited smaller average stem diameters, shorter stem heights to the jorquette, and shorter jorquette branches. We concluded that somatic embryo-derived plants demonstrated normal phenotypes in field conditions and have growth parameters similar to plants propagated by traditional methods.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to express our appreciation to Pat Opler and Ed Opler, Jr. for providing us with the opportunity and the land to perform the field test and to Ed Opler, Jr., and the World’s Finest Chocolate for their continued support throughout the field-testing period. We would like to thank the Union Vale Estate manager Josephine George and the whole staff of the plantation for assisting us with the planning of the test, preparation of the field and plants, greenhouse and field maintenance. We thank the many people who helped contribute to this work, including Sharon Spicer, Carter Miller, Abdoulaye Traore, Samantha George, Edmond George, Gertrude, Veronique, the Ministry of Agriculture, St. Lucia, and the many friends and family members who helped and encouraged us along the way. We also would like to extend our appreciation to Dr. Marna D. Yandeau-Nelson for her assistance with the statistical analysis of the data and the preparation of the manuscript. The traveling and the laboratory work at Penn State were supported by funds from The American Cacao Research Institute. This manuscript is dedicated to the Memory of Pat Opler, who inspired us in many ways.
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Editor: Jayasankar Subramanian, PhD
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Maximova, S.N., Young, A., Pishak, S. et al. Field performance of Theobroma cacao L. plants propagated via somatic embryogenesis. In Vitro Cell.Dev.Biol.-Plant 44, 487–493 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11627-008-9130-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11627-008-9130-5