ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Agron.
Sec. Climate-Smart Agronomy
Volume 7 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fagro.2025.1465311
This article is part of the Research TopicSustainable Agronomy for Environmental ProtectionView all articles
Relationship between trunk diameter fluctuations and physiological variables in adult cocoa trees
Provisionally accepted
Fausto Rodrigo Frerie Carrera1*
YELITZA GARCIA ORELLANA2,3Manuel Carrillo Zenteno2
Luis Vera Benites2Braulio Lahuathe Mendoza2Alvaro Chipantiza Montaguano1Betty Rivadeneira Moreira2Wuellins Durango2- 1University UTE, Quito, Ecuador
- 2National Institute of Agricultural Research (INIAP), Quito, Pichincha, Ecuador
- 3Universidad Centroccidental Lisandro Alvarado, Barquisimeto, Lara, Venezuela
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It is important to know the water status of cocoa plants because a water deficit negatively affects fruit set and fruit maturity reducing their quality. The objective of this work is determining the existence of a relationship between the fluctuation of trunk diameter and the water status of adult cocoa trees which will allow a continuous and low-cost measurement of the water status of the plants.To meet this objective a trial was carried out at Hacienda La Clemencia located in the province of Guayas-Ecuador, the foliar and stem water potentials, maximum daily trunk fluctuations (MCDT), gas exchange, and soil moisture levels were evaluated. The trial was conducted for 128 days, from July to October 2023. The physiological variables were measured twice a week, while the meteorological variables, soil moisture, and MCDT were recorded continuously. The results showed that there is a correlation between the physiological variables evaluated and MCDT. In conclusion, there is a significant relationship between stem potential and MCDT in adult cocoa plants.
Keywords: Maximum Daily Trunk Fluctuations, Reference crop evapotranspiration, irrigation, soil moisture, water potential
Received: 16 Jul 2024; Accepted: 24 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Frerie Carrera, GARCIA ORELLANA, Carrillo Zenteno, Vera Benites, Lahuathe Mendoza, Chipantiza Montaguano, Rivadeneira Moreira and Durango. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Fausto Rodrigo Frerie Carrera, University UTE, Quito, Ecuador
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