Phenotypic diversity of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) based on morphological characterization descriptors in major cocoa-growing areas of Tanzania
Paper Details
Phenotypic diversity of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) based on morphological characterization descriptors in major cocoa-growing areas of Tanzania
Abstract
Cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) is an important commercial crop for the livelihoods of the people in Tanzania. Its farming is highly impacted by climate change, pests and diseases, and soil health quality, leading to poor production. This study was conducted in Mbeya (Kyela), Morogoro (Kilombero), and Tanga (Muheza) regions of Tanzania, to assess the farming practices and variations in cocoa morphological characters. Purposive sampling was used to select regions, districts and villages where cocoa was highly grown in Tanzania and simple random sampling technique was used to select the cocoa farmers. Variables such as petiole length, pod length, pod width, number of beans per pod, bean length, and dried bean weight showed significant differences amongst themselves. The coefficient of variation of less than 50%, ranging from 14.60% to 47.56%, indicated moderate variation among the descriptors. The variations exhibited by some of the descriptors might be caused by on-farm practices and mixing of traditional Criollo/Forastero introductions and Trinitario hybrids. Also, the inherent genetic differences between these varieties result in highly diverse morphological characteristics. This study therefore, provides valuable insights in the morphological variations of cocoa which is important for agricultural stakeholders for cocoa farming improvement.
Adenuga OO, Olaniyi OO, Adeigbe OO, Adepoju AF, Dada KE, Mapayi EF. 2015. Phenotypic description and discrimination of some early-bearing cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) genotypes using pod and bean traits. IOSR Journal of Agriculture and Veterinary Science 8(7), 35–42.
Aikpokpodion PO. 2010. Variation in agro-morphological characteristics of cacao, Theobroma cacao L., in farmers’ fields in Nigeria. New Zealand Journal of Crop and Horticultural Science 38(2), 157–170. DOI: 10.1080/0028825X.2010.488786
Alavaisha E. 2020. Agricultural expansion impacts on wetland ecosystem services from Kilombero Valley, Tanzania. Doctoral dissertation, Department of Physical Geography, Stockholm University.
Avendaño-Arrazate CH, Porog-López KM, Martínez-Bolaños M, Reyes-Reyes AL, Guerra-Medina CE, Martínez-Bolaños L, Gómez-Godínez LJ, García-Alamilla P. 2024. Morphological characterization of cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) criollo type in Mexico. Agro Productividad 17(10), 187–197.
Ballesteros PW, Lagos BTC, Ferney LH. 2015. Morphological characterization of elite cacao trees (Theobroma cacao L.) in Tumaco, Nariño, Colombia. Revista Colombiana de Ciencias Hortícolas 9(2), 313–328. DOI: 10.17584/rcch.2015v9i2.4187
Bekele F, Butler D. 1998. Working procedures for cocoa germplasm evaluation and selection: Proposed short list of cocoa descriptors for characterization. Proceedings of the CFC/ICCO/IPGRI, CIRAD, Montpellier, France.
Bekele FL, Bidaisee GG, Singh H, Saravanakumar D. 2019. Morphological characterisation and evaluation of cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) in Trinidad to facilitate utilisation of Trinitario cacao globally. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution 67(3), 621–643.
Bekele FL, Butler DR, Bidaisee GG. 2008. Upper Amazon Forastero cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) 1: An assessment of phenotypic relationships in the International Cocoa Genebank, Trinidad. Tropical Agriculture 85(1), 1–15.
Bidot MI, Riera NM, Flamand MC, Bertin P. 2015. Genetic diversity and population structure of anciently introduced Cuban cacao (Theobroma cacao) plants. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution 62, 67–84.
Botero K, Arias T. 2018. Uso de las ciencias ómicas para el mejoramiento genético de cultivos. Revista de Ciencias Agrícolas 35(2), 64–78.
Efombagn MIB, Sounigo O, Nyassé S, Manzanares-Dauleux M, Eskes AB. 2009. Phenotypic variation of cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) on farms and in the gene bank in Cameroon. Journal of Plant Breeding and Crop Science 1(6), 258–264.
Engels J. 1981. Genetic resources of cacao: A catalogue of the CATIE collection. No. 7. Bib. Orton IICA/CATIE.
Engels JMM. 1983. A systematic description of cacao clones. I. The discriminative value of quantitative characteristics. Euphytica 32, 377–385.
Engels JMM. 1986. The systematic description of cacao clones and its significance for taxonomy and plant breeding. Wageningen University and Research.
Kalimangasi NN, Kihombo A, Kalimangasi N. 2014. Technical efficiency of cocoa production through contract farming: Empirical evidence from Kilombero and Kyela districts. International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications 4(10), 671–679.
Kongor JE, Owusu M, Oduro-Yeboah C. 2024. Cocoa production in the 2020s: Challenges and solutions. CABI Agriculture and Bioscience 5(1), 1–28.
Kongor JE, Rahadian AMD. 2024. Processing of cocoa and development of chocolate beverages. In: Natural Products in Beverages: Botany, Phytochemistry, Pharmacology and Processing. Springer International Publishing, Cham. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-38663-3_7
Kosoe EA, Ahmed A. 2022. Climate change adaptation strategies of cocoa farmers in the Wassa East District: Implications for climate services in Ghana. Climate Services 26, 1–10.
Lachenaud P, Bonnot F, Oliver G. 1999. Use of floral descriptors to study variability in wild cocoa trees (Theobroma cacao L.) in French Guiana. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution 46(5), 491–500.
Lachenaud P, Motamayor JC. 2017. The Criollo cacao tree (Theobroma cacao L.): A review. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution 64(8), 1807–1820.
López-Hernández JA, Ortiz-Mejía FN, Parada-Berríos FÁ, Lara-Ascencio F, Vásquez-Osegueda EA. 2019. Caracterización morfoagronómica de cacao criollo (Theobroma cacao L.) y su incidencia en la selección de germoplasma promisorio en áreas de presencia natural en El Salvador. Revista Minerva: Revista Científica Multidisciplinaria de la Universidad de El Salvador 2(1), 31–50.
Maharaj K, Maharaj P, Bekele FL, Ramnath D, Bidaisee GG, Bekele I, Persad C, Jennings K, Sankar R. 2011. Trinidad selected hybrids: An investigation of the phenotypic and agro-economic traits of 20 selected cacao cultivars. Tropical Agriculture 88(4), 175–185.
Monteiro WR, Lopes UV, Clement D. 2009. Genetic improvement in cocoa. In: Breeding Plantation Tree Crops: Tropical Species. Springer, New York. DOI: 10.1007/978-0-387-71201-7_16
Nindi SJ, Maliti H, Bakari S, Kija H, Machoke M. 2014. Conflicts over land and water resources in the Kilombero Valley floodplain, Tanzania. African Study Monographs, Supplementary Issue 50, 173–190.
Nyomora A, Kanyeka Z, Nduguru A. 2012. Supporting Tanzania’s cocoa farmers. Research Report No. 3. www.repoa.or.tz
Pérez Garcia GA, Freile AJA. 2017. Adaptabilidad de clones promisorios de cacao nacional (Theobroma cacao L.), en el cantón Arosemena Tola de Ecuador. Centro Agrícola 44(2), 44–51.
Ploetz RC. 2007. Cacao diseases: Important threats to chocolate production worldwide. Phytopathology 97(12), 1634–1639.
Santos RC, Pires JL, Correa RX. 2012. Morphological characterization of leaf, flower, fruit and seed traits among Brazilian Theobroma L. species. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution 59, 327–345.
Semagn K, Bjørnstad Å, Xu Y. 2010. The genetic dissection of quantitative traits in crops. Electronic Journal of Biotechnology 13(5), 16–17.
Vásquez-García J, Santos-Pelaez JC, Malqui-Ramos R, Vigo CN, Bobadilla LG. 2022. Agromorphological characterization of cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) accessions from the germplasm bank of the National Institute of Agrarian Innovation, Peru. Heliyon 8(10), e10888. DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e10888
Zhafran LM, Demmallino EB, Busthanul N, Naping H, Yassi A, Jamil MH. 2022. The adaptation strategies capacity of cocoa farmers in facing climate change toward sustainable cocoa farming in Bantaeng Regency. Journal of Environmental and Agricultural Studies 3, 7–12. DOI: 10.32996/jeas
Godwin G. Maro*, Pavithravani B. Venkataramana, Kelvin M. Mtei, Mashamba Lucas Philip, 2026. Phenotypic diversity of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) based on morphological characterization descriptors in major cocoa-growing areas of Tanzania. Int. J. Biosci., 29(4), 102-111.
Copyright © 2026 by the Authors. This article is an open access article and distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) license.