Location: Sustainable Perennial Crops Laboratory
Project Number: 8042-21000-281-011-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: May 28, 2018
End Date: May 27, 2023
Objective:
1. Evaluate cacao germplasm for tolerance to soil moisture deficits, and identify promising parental clones in order to develop drought-tolerant varieties.
2. Evaluate cacao germplasm for accumulation and translocation of heavy metals, such as cadmium; assess nutrient use efficiency in different environments; and identify promising parental clones for breeding varieties with high nutrient use efficiency and low concentration of toxic heavy metals. Asses cacao management practices on soil and bean quality for accumulations of essential and non-essential heavy metals.
Approach:
Fundação Pau Brasil (FUNPAB) actively promotes sustainable cacao production through collaborations with various cacao research institutions in Brazil. Collaborative research will be carried with scientists from UESC (Univ. Estadual de Santa Cruz) and CEPLAC/CEPEC (Comissao Executiva do Plano da Lavoura Cacaueira/Centro de Pesquisas de Cacau). This non-assistance cooperative agreement (NACA) will emphasize the coordination of research approaches of the USDA/ARS and all collaborating institution mentioned here and will promote sustainable cacao production research and identification of abiotic stress (drought, deficiency of essential elements and toxicity of heavy metals) tolerant cacao germplasms. The agreement promotes international partnerships and cooperation with the USDA-ARS.
