Studies on pod and bean values of Theobroma cacao L. in Nigeria. I. Environmental effects on West African amelonado with particular attention to annual rainfall distribution.

Abstract

All pod and bean values except the pod length/width ratio and the weight of oven-dried shell and seed coat per bean were affected by season. Pods which developed in a period of considerable water stress had much lower values than pods which developed during periods of adequate water supply. Under conditions of water stress the positive correlations between most pod characters disappeared. The mean weight, however, of oven-dry beans was independent of any other pod value irrespective of the water supply to the trees. Percentage butterfat was positively, and shell content negatively related to bean size. Butterfat content of beans in the same weight class was higher in September than in June, and the shell content of beans was lower. The mean weight of cured beans was highly correlated (r = 0.82) to the total rainfall of the first 4 months of pod development. [See also H.A., 40: 4853 and the following abstract.]-Neth, int. agric. Cent., Wageningen. (Abstract retrieved from CAB Abstracts by CABI’s permission)