Egbe Enow Andrew, Kuchambi Indah Eni, Tchoundjeu Zac
This study was carried out to quantify tree-to-tree variation in fruit and nut traits as to aid in the selection of superior phenotypes for domestication and plantation establishment. Detail measurements of fruit and nut characteristics from 43 trees of Cola acuminata were made from three populations in the Centre Region of Cameroon. A total of 1204 fruits were assessed. High significant differences were noted in the mean fruit mass with range 82 to 330g, mean fruit length ranged from 89 to 154 mm, mean fruit diameter ranged from 44 to 73mm, mean number of nuts per fruit ranged 3 - 11, mean nut mass with testa ranged from 53 – 205g while nut mass without testa ranged 42 – 164g. There was also variation in the colour of the nuts and the number of cotyledons per nut and there were significant differences in the three populations (P≤ 0.001). This paper provides quantified description of tree-to-tree variation in fruit and nut traits within populations of Cola acuminata in the Centre Region of Cameroon. In this study five plus trees were selected from these three populations which could be used for cultivar development and plantation establishment.
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