Effect of salicylic acid on callus formation in three <i>Theobroma cacao</i> L. clones

Abstract

Cocoa is a crop of great economic importance and it has interest as a source of naturally occurring compounds. The tissue culture using metabolic elicitation is an alternative for large scale production of secondary metabolites. This study aimed to determine the effect of salicylic acid as elicitor for the production of cell biomass of Theobroma cacao L. in three clones. For callus formation staminodes of ‘UF-613’, ‘UF-650’ and ‘Pound-7’ clones were used. It were added 0.02, 0.05, 0.10 and 0.15 mg l-1 salicylic acid to the culture medium. At 15 and 28 days of culture the number of explants formed callus were quantified and the percentage of callus formation was calculated. In the best results clone the secondary metabolites in callus and culture medium were identified by phytochemical screening. The addition of salicylic acid accelerated callus formation in the cocoa clones ‘UF-613’, ‘UF-650’ and ‘Pound-7’. The results depended of the clone and the concentrations used. The identification of secondary metabolites in callus of ‘UF-650’ clone and in the culture medium is the starting point for future research. Key words: tissue culture, phytochemical screening, secondary metabolites.