Performance of quality parameters in seedling progenies of identified cocoa plus trees under Tamil Nadu condition

Abstract

Main aim of this study to evaluate the performance of quality parameters in seedling progenies of identified cocoa plus trees under Tamil Nadu condition. Ten plus trees were evaluated for two cropping period from July 2014 to June 2015. Out of ten plus trees studied for quality characters, the fat content was the highest (56.1 per cent) in VPS 13. While the highest (87.04 mg equivalent for pyrocatechol per gram) total phenol content in cocoa beans was recorded in VPS 15. Similarly, the mean performance of plus trees showed that the highest (25.41 per cent) total carbohydrate content was recorded by VPS 15 over one year. The quality characters such as fat content, total phenol content and carbohydrate content were influences by the genetic potential of the plus trees. These plus trees, further useful for breeding program to enhance the quality traits.