Abstract
Bean characteristics of Upper Amazon cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) progenies were compared with two control hybrids in a series of progeny trials in Ghana. Flavour was assessed using fermented and dried cacao beans. All but 8 of the 70 new hybrids being tested had bean weight >1.05 g which is acceptable to the chocolate manufacturers. Using Upper Amazon pollen parents led to increased percentage shell content of beans and a higher fat content of the nibs. A few of the inter-Upper Amazon hybrids were considered by the chocolate manufacturers to lack chocolate flavour. In general, the bean characteristics of the new hybrids did not differ significantly from the control crosses. Although the bean characters studied appeared to be largely genetically determined, they could also be influenced markedly by environmental factors. The chances of Ghanaian cacao beans falling outside the acceptable flavour range are not high provided that breeding is within the Amazonian Forastero group.
