<![CDATA[ABSTRAKSekitar 75 juta bibit kakao asal embrio somatik (ES) telah ditanam di lapangan. Evaluasi keragaan tanaman tersebut perlu terus dilakukan. Penelitian yang bertujuan untuk mengevaluasi keragaan tanaman kakao asal ES di lapangan telah dilaksanakan di delapan lokasi di Kabupaten Soppeng, Sulawesi Selatan dan kabupaten Mamuju (Sulawesi Barat) pada bulan Juni 2012 sampai Desember 2013. Pengamatan dilakukan terhadap tanaman umur 1,5-4 tahun meliputi tinggi jorget, lingkar batang, jumlah cabang primer, persentase tanaman berbunga, persentase tanaman berbuah, jumlah buah per pohon, jumlah biji per buah, bobot kering biji serta kejadian serangan hama dan penyakit. Tanaman kakao asal ES memiliki arsitektur seperti tanaman yang berasal dari biji, yaitu memiliki pertumbuhan dimorfik dan membentuk jorget. Rataan tinggi jorget bervariasi antar lokasi, sebagian besar berkisar 100 -150 cm. Di lapangan ditemukan tanaman asal ES dengan tinggi jorget > 2 m. Perlu dievaluasi lebih lanjut apakah tinggi jorget > 2 m merupakan bentuk penyimpangan atau hanya pengaruh faktor lingkungan. Pada saat dilakukan pengamatan, tanaman kakao asal ES yang dievaluasi sudah berbunga dan berbuah dengan persentase berbunga 34-100%, berbuah 16-100%, dan dengan hasil buah per pohon 6-37 buah. Bobot buah yang dipanen berkisar 277-418 g dengan rataan jumlah biji per buah 43 biji dan bobot kering per biji 0.5 -1.4 g. Kejadian serangan penggerek buah di 3 lokasi pengamatan mencapai 82, 34.8 dan 49.6%, sedangkan busuk buah 2, 4.3 dan 18%. Studi lebih lanjut diperlukan untuk memastikan bahwa tanaman kakao asal ES mempunyai karakteristik tanaman dan hasil yang tidak berbeda dengan tanaman kakao asal bibit tradisional yang telah biasa digunakan petani.Kata kunci: Theobroma cacao L., bibit ES, perbanyakan masal, pertumbuhan dan komponen hasil, variasi somaklonal Field Performance of Cacao Somatic Embryos Derived PlantsABSTRACTApproximately 75 millions of cacao seedlings propagated through somatic embryogenesis (SE) have been planted in the field. Evaluation of the performance of those SE derived plants needs to be continued. The research aimed to evaluate the performance of the cacao SE derived plants in the field have been implemented in 8 locations in Soppeng district, South Sulawesi and the Mamuju district, West Sulawesi in June 2012 and December 2013. Collected data include: jorquette height, trunk circumference, jorquette branch numbers, flowering and fruiting tree percentages, fruit numbers per tree, pod weight, bean number per pod, bean dry weight and the disease and pest infection rates. Cacao plants derived from SE showed similar plant architectures to those of seed derived ones, such as having dimorphic growth and forming jorquette. The jorquette height of the majority of cacao trees in the evaluated regionsranged from 100-150 cm. A few SE derived cacao trees show jorquette height > 2 m. However, it needs further studies to determine whether they indicate either abnormality or environment effects. The SE derived cacao trees in the studied locations has bear flowers and fruits. The percentages of cacao trees with flowers or fruits at the age of 2.5 years ranged from 34-100% or 16-100%, respectively. The observed pods number per tree was 6-37 pods, the pod weight was 277-418 g, the beans number per pod was 42-43 and the bean dry weight was 0.5 -1.4 g. The incidences of fruit borer infection at the three evaluated locations were 82, 34.8 dan 49.6%, while the incidences of black pod infection were 2, 4.3 dan 18%. To conclude whether the SE derived cacao trees are comparable to those of the traditional cacao planting materials requires more comprehensive studies.Keywords: Theobroma cacao L., SE derived seedling, mass propagation, growth and yield components, somaclonal variation]]>
