Morphological Characterization of Cacao Plants (Theobroma cacao L.) from Dharmasraya Regency of West Sumatra

Abstract

Dharmasraya, a regency in West Sumatra Province, has traditionally focused on cultivating oil palm and rubber. However, due to a decline in prices for these commodities, there has been a shift towards cultivating cacao plants. Despite several years of cultivation, cacao production in Dharmasraya Regency remains low. This is attributed to unsuitable land and weather conditions, as well as the use of inferior plant material and uncertain origins of the cacao clone. To address these issues, a research study was conducted to assess the diversity and similarity of cacao plants in Dharmasraya Regency. The study focused on four locations within Sitiung Subdistrict: Siguntur, Sitiung, Gunung Medan, and Sungai Duo. A purposive sampling method was used to select the sample plants. The data was analyzed descriptively, and similarity analysis was performed using the NTSYS 2.02 software. The study identified seven different clones of cacao plants, each with distinct morphological characteristics in terms of leaves, flowers, fruits, and seeds. The phenotypic similarity analysis revealed a coefficient value ranging from 23% to 47%, indicating a moderate level of similarity, and a variability value ranging from 53% to 77%. It was found that qualitative traits exhibited a narrow range of variability, while quantitative traits displayed a broader range of phenotypic variability.