Selection of new cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) varieties in on-station and on-farm trials in Nigeria

One of the major objectives of cocoa breeding research is the development of high-yielding cocoa genotypes (hybrids and/or clones) adapted to local growing conditions that can give optimum returns on investment to farmers. On-station and on-farm field evaluation were carried out in the CFC/ICCO/Bioversity project including the 1999 Hybrid Trial, Local Clone Trial, Regional Variety Trial, On-farm Participatory Hybrid Trial and Ex-Uhonmora Clones Observation Trial. From results obtained over a 10-year evaluation period, some hybrid families with significantly (P<0.05) greater productivity than the F3 Amazon control were identified. Some outstanding clones were also identified from the Local Clone Trial and Ex-Uhonmora Clone Observation Trial. On-farm trial of selected hybrids also confirmed the stability of precocity and high yields observed in the tested materials. In conclusion, in the framework of the CFC/ICCO/Bioversity project, a number of interesting hybrids and clones that can be fed into the formal cocoa seed production system have been selected. These have huge potential for improving cocoa productivity and income at the farm level as well as the national production output. (Résumé d'auteur