VEGETATIVE AND REPRODUCTIVE BEHAVIOR OF COCOA (Theobroma cacao L.) DUE TO PRUNING

Abstract

Pruning is a common practice in cocoa production systems; however, there is uncertainty about the time and the way to carry it out to ensure the greatest benefit for the farmer. The objective of this research was to study the changes that pruning generates on vegetative and reproductive behavior of cocoa. The experimental phase was conducted in farms of the municipality of Chigorodó, Antioquia, Colombia, during 2016. Eight years old clones CCN 51 and ICS 95 were chosen; they received the treatments of pruning height (-h), base pruning (b), base pruning minus 25 % leaf area (LA) (b - 25 %), base minus 50 % LA (b - 50 %) and base minus 75 % LA (b - 75 %) of the canopy; these were arranged in a completely randomized design with five pruning treatments and four replications; each tree was considered as an experimental unit. The leaf area index (LAI), number of flowers and fruits, fresh weight of peel, placenta, fermented and dry grain were measured. In addition, pod index (PI) and grain index (GI) were also determined. An analysis of variance and a Tukey test (P ≤ 0.05) were performed. In CCN 51, the LAI showed significant differences between treatments at 65 and 245 days after pruning (dap), and in ICS 95 at 169 dap, the LAI in the treatment (-h) was 3.8 for CCN 51 at 245 dap and 3.7 for ICS 95 at 169 dap. The number of fruits and production were greater in treatments (-h) and b - 25 % in CCN 51, while in clone ICS 95 treatments (-h) and b excelled. The amount of dry grain per tree with treatment (-h) in clone CCN 51 was 4.7 kg and in ICS 95 it was 1.6 kg. The PI and the GI did not present significant differences between treatments in both clones.