Propagation of cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) clone ‘CCN51’ using somatic embryogenesis: from pilot scale to commercial production

ABSTRACT

The transition of promising technologies for the massive production of cacao trees from research to commercial scale is often difficult and expensive. As a result, the timeframe estimated for plantlet production is underestimated resulting in exceptionally long processes in the laboratory that make the production system unfeasible to bring to markets. Somatic embryogenesis (SE) is considered the most suitable and integrated technology for the large-scale production of clonal cocoa plants, compared to conventional methods. To date, practical application of SE to produce cocoa genotypes of interest has been limited, and for ‘drop-in’ technology replacements, price is of paramount importance for success. Therefore, the objective of this work was to produce the CCN51 genotype in a pilot scale in the laboratory with an approach to commercial production. The productive stages for a complex biological process such as SE and a reduction in production cycle time were defined. The production stages defined for SE were initiation, multiplication, maturation, germination, and acclimatization. The minimal time obtained for CCN51 production was 8.3 months: 30, 70, 50, 70, and 30 days, respectively. The decrease in the time of the production process directly influences the process cost and it represents a breakthrough in the technology development.

KEYWORDS:

• In vitro regeneration
• vegetative propagation
• scale up
• Theobroma cacao L.
• time

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank professional David Borrego for his statistical and technical advice, professionals Michel Carmona and Diana Vanegas for providing photographs of the embryogenic process, and the laboratory of Plant Physiology and Plant Tissue Culture of the Universidad de Antioquia. A special acknowledgement to Universidad de Antioquia’s Research Development Committee (CODI) and Pablo Hernandez of Granja Yariguíes – Compañia Nacional de Chocolates.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, Henao AM, on reasonable request. 10.4236/as.2020.113014

Additional information

Funding

This work was financed by General Royalties System—Science, Technology, and Innovation Fund with the Agrobiotechnology Development Centre for Innovation and Territorial Integration project—CEDAIT-BPIN 2016000100060, National Planning Department, Office of the Governor of Antioquia, Universidad de Antioquia, Universidad Católica de Oriente, and Compañía Nacional de Chocolates.