Growth Response of Cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) Seedling After an Inorganic Fertilizer Application

Fertilization of cacao seedlings is not yet a widely accepted practice in the Philippines and research studies are needed to define sources, rates and timing of application. The use of fertilizer as an agricultural technique for supplying the nutrients necessary for the development of cacao seedling in the nursery is an option. The objective of this study was to determine how different doses of the fertilizer can affect the growth of cacao seedlings in terms of days of emergence, plant height, stem girth, and number of leaves. The study was conducted at Buhangin Baler in Aurora province, the Philippines from June 2022 to December 2022. The experiment used a randomized complete block design with three treatments and four replications. The treatments were: T1 – Control (No inorganic fertilizer); T2 – Recommended Rate of Inorganic Fertilizer (RRIF) based on soil analysis result; and T3 – Double the Recommended Rate of Inorganic Fertilizer based on soil analysis result. The variant T2 or Recommended Rate of Inorganic Fertilizer applied had the best response out of the three treatments in terms of plant height, and stem girth and has a high percentage of survival after grafting and fertilization. The results showed that the grafted seedlings (BR 25 cacao variety as rootstock and Criollo cacao variety as scion) responded well in terms of plant height, and stem girth and has a high number of survival rate (60-65%) after grafting and application of 25% and 50% fertilizer. In terms of number of leaves, the grafted BR 25 cacao variety as rootstock and Criollo cacao variety as scion and grafted BR 25 cacao variety as rootstock and UF 18 cacao variety as scion were best performing at both single (T2) and double (T3) rate of fertilizers applied. Keywords: cacao seedlings, Recommended Rate of Inorganic Fertilizer, rootstock, scion