Description
Book SynopsisThe cacao (Theobroma cacao) plant is an important Neo-Tropical species whose natural habitat is the Amazon basin. Over the last 30 years there has been a considerable geographical expansion in the availability of cacao genetic resources. As a result the plant has a rich genetic diversity that exists at two levels: that of the primitive populations in the area of original distribution of the species, and that of the derived cultivated populations. This book provides a comprehensive review of our current knowledge of the diversity of the species. It starts by examining the diversity and inheritance of the characteristics of primitive populations in the Amazonian and Caribbean regions. It then looks at the evolution of diversity within cultivated populations first in South America and around the Caribbean, and then beyond the Americas. The book describes the inter-relationships between populations based on morphological and molecular markers. It also examines the conservation of genetic r
Table of Contents1: Foreword, Tony Lass 2: The Background to the Subject: Concepts and a Brief History 3: The Terminology Specific to Cacao 4: The Indicators of Variability 5: The Manifestation of the Diversity and its Conservation 6: The Foundations of the Diversity 7: The Amazonian Region 8: The Circum-Caribbean Region 9: The Cultivated Populations as Secondary Depositories of the Diversity 10: Introduction Part 1: South America - Populations Derived from an Amazonian Region Germplasm Base Part 2: The Circum-Caribbean Region and Neighbouring Territories Populations that Evolved from a Criollo Germplasm Base Part 3: Cacao Beyond the Americas - The Export 11: The Genetics of the Diversity 12: The Relationships among Populations 13: The Utilization of the Genetic Resources 14: Epilogue - Final Remarks
