Cacao breeding in Colombia, past, present and future.

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Science
• Plant Breeding
• Agronomy

Background:

• Cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) is vital for Colombian social programs, poverty alleviation, and peace initiatives.
• Colombia is a potential center of origin for cacao, with a long history of germplasm collection.
• Early breeding programs relied on introduced parent accessions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the historical evolution of cacao breeding strategies in Colombia.
• To outline the current and future perspectives of the Colombian cacao breeding program.
• To highlight the integration of molecular markers in modern breeding.

Main Methods:

• Review of historical breeding strategies: full-sib progenies, mass selection, and recurrent selection.
• Description of germplasm collection efforts dating back to the 1940s.
• Integration of molecular markers into current breeding programs.

Main Results:

• Colombian cacao breeding has evolved from using introduced parents to mass selection and recurrent selection.
• The Colombian Corporation for Agricultural Research (Agrosavia) adopted recurrent selection in 2012.
• Molecular markers are being incorporated to enhance selection efficiency.

Conclusions:

• The cacao breeding program in Colombia has undergone significant strategic shifts.
• Recurrent selection and molecular markers represent the current frontier in Colombian cacao breeding.
• The program aims to develop improved cacao populations and clones for enhanced yield and disease resistance.