Combining-ability for cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) yield components under southern Bahia conditions

The objective of this study was to assess five cacao cultivars (selfs) and 20 hybrids with regard to their general-and specific-combining ability for yield components using method 1, model I, of the diallel analysis system. The selfings and the hybrids were obtained through controlled crossings, tested in the field in a random block design with four replications and plots containing 16 plants. The experiment was set up in the Centro de Pesquisas do Cacau, in Itabuna, Bahia, Brasil, in 1975. The characteristics studied were: the number of healthy and collected fruits per plant (NHFP and NCFP), the weight of humid seeds per plant and per fruit (WHSP and WHSF), and the percentage of diseased fruits per plant (PDFP), for 5 years (1986-1990). The F-test values, highly significant for general combining ability (GCA) and specific combining ability (SCA), demonstrated the existence of variability for both effects. However, the effects of SCA were greater than those of GCA, when compared in terms of the average squared effects. This condition held for the characteristics NHFP, NCFP and WHSP, which shows the relative importance of the non-additive genetic effects over the additive effects. The reciprocal effects did not show significance. Breeding methods which explore the additive portion of genetic variance should be employed for obtaining higher-yielding cacao and high seed weight. For this, the segregant populations should involve cultivars CEPEC 1, SIAL 169 and ICS 1. Combinations involving the cultivar ICS 1 presented the most favorable results for the characteristics WHSP and WHSF, where the hybrid SIAL 169 x ICS 1 and its reciprocal were outstanding.