Incidence of witches? broom disease (Crinipellis perniciosa) on yields of two agro-ecosystems of cocoa with different management conditions

摘要

 This study evaluated the incidence of the disease known as witches?′ broom (Crinipellis perniciosa Stahel, Singer) on the yield of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) in two agro-ecosystems (La Primavera and La Cayena), two farms with different conditions of  management in Carabobo State, Venezuela. A completely randomized design was used and the incidence of the disease was evaluated according to the observed symptoms on selected trees. The number of healthy fruits per plant, mean fruit weight, and yield of dry almonds per plant were determined; the comparison between farms for these variables was carried out by the t-Student test. The results show that the witches?’ broom disease has a higher incidence in La Primavera farm, which had fewer agro-ecological practices and lower technificati?3n level  as compared to La Cayena farm. Also, significant differences (P≤0,01) were found for the productive variables, favoring La Cayena farm. There were 53 and 40 healthy fruits per plant, mean fruit weights of 1.02 and 0.90 kg, and yields of dry almond per plant of 0.87 and 0.45 kg?·year-1 in La Cayena and La Primavera farms, respectively.