Cocoa breeding for witches'broom resistance at CEPEC, Bahia, Brazil

The arrival of witches' broom disease in the cocoa plantations of Bahia lead to a redefinition of objectives on the ongoing cocoa breeding program of the Centro de Pesquisas do Cacau (CEPEC). Efforts have been directed on the search of information for adequate manipulation of resistance factors, identification of new sources of resistance, and analysis of the possibility of using traditional sources, adding to that, evaluation of the incidence of the disease in progenies and clones previously established in the field; and establishment of a recurrent selection process for the obtention of commercial varieties with larger level and stability of resistance to the disease, bearing other characteristics of economical value