Abstract
This study aimed at a microsatellite marker-based assessment of the genetic variability of 30 accessions of Theobroma cacao selected for resistance to witchesbroom on commercial plantations in the cocoa region of Bahia State and to compare them with traditional sources of resistance to witchesbroom (SCA-6 and IMC-67) and other parents (ICS-1 and SIC-19) used in the breeding program of the Cocoa Research Center (CEPEC). Sixteen pairs of specific primers for microsatellite loci were used, generating 64 alleles. The genetic distance between the analyzed accessions ranged from 0.13 to 0.71 and the heterozygosis levels from 23 to 76%. The cluster analyses grouped 18 accessions (60%) together with SCA-6. Accessions selected on farms for their high levels of resistance to witchesbroom, good agronomic traits, which are genetically distant from SCA-6, have a high potential for the breeding program or even for direct recommendation to farmers.
Highlights
The cacao, Theobroma cacao L., is an allogamous and perennial species of great social and economic-ecological importance in the producing regions of Brazil, where close to 3 million people depend directly or indirectly on this crop
30 accessions of T. cacao selected by producers for their resistance to witches’ broom on commercial plantations in the Bahia cacao region were evaluated (Table 1)
Four accessions from different geographic origins were included in the analyses – two from the Upper Amazon (SCA-6 and IMC-67), one Trinitarian (ICS-1) and one Lower Amazon type (SIC-19)
Summary
The cacao, Theobroma cacao L., is an allogamous and perennial species of great social and economic-ecological importance in the producing regions of Brazil, where close to 3 million people depend directly or indirectly on this crop. Cacao is an important source of receipts, income and employment, moving, in beans and derivatives, nearly 1.5 billion dollars an year. The South of Bahia is the main cacao producing region of Brazil, where practically 100 counties are economically cacao based. Witches’ broom disease, caused by the fungus Crinipellis perniciosa (Stahel) Singer, has engendered a dramatic economical, ecological and social impact on the cacao region of Bahia and throughout Brazil in the last years. In the Bahia cacao region, the disease was introduced in 1989 (Pereira et al 1989) causing yield losses of up to 100% on some farms
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