Selection of cocoa clones (Theobroma cacao L.) for the morphological and sensory qualities of the beans in Cte dIvoire

The current context of cocoa farming in Côte d'Ivoire is marked by a decline in the quality of commercial cocoa. This study aims to identify cocoa trees with good grain size and good plant morphological, aromatic, and sensory qualities. The methodology used consisted of analyzing 11 clones and 27 families of high-yielding hybrids for two morphological characteristics (grain size and homogeneity of the beans) and sensory quality (aroma, acidity, bitterness, astringency, etc). The plant material came from multi-site trials set up at the Divo and Soubré research stations and in the Toumodi farming community. The results revealed that the weight of a marketable cocoa bean was greater than 1 g for all the plant material studied. Clones IFC16 (1.81 g). C123 (1.65 g) and families F6 Séch/Divo (1.81 g); F25 Séch/Divo (1.45 g); F26 TO/Soubré (1.43 g) and F3 Séch/Divo (1.42 g) obtained very good bean size and good homogeneity with scores greater than or equal to 6. In addition. Fifteen of the twenty-seven hybrid families and six clones were characterized by specific flavors (floral, woody, and fresh fruit) sought after by chocolatiers. The value of researching the best-performing trees within hybrid families such as F2, F3, and F4 (from E6/5 Divo), or these two quality criteria, is considered and discussed. Key words: Clone, hybrid, cocoa tree, qualities, morphological, sensory.