Evaluation of the Behavior of Cashew Genotypes against Anthracnose Disease Aggression in Agroforestry Farms in Northern Côte d'Ivoire

Abstract

As in all cashew producing areas, anthracnose causes enormous production losses in cashew agroforestry farms in Côte d'Ivoire. To overcome this problem, the use of anthracnose-resilient production plant material in cashew forest agrosystems is becoming a necessity for sustainable development. Thus, this study was carried out with the aim of evaluating the behavior of genotypes of cashew trees cultivated in peasant agroforestry systems in the north of Côte d'Ivoire. To do this, peasant agroforestry cashew orchards were prospected, cashew trees were marked, codified and geolocated. The incidence and severity of anthracnose were then assessed on the marked and geotagged cashew leaves, twigs, inflorescences and fruits. Descriptive analysis of the incidence and severity data revealed that more than 50% of the genotypes studied are resilient to anthracnose with an incidence on nuts in the order of 0.00 ± 5.75%. The ACP explained 52.96% of the total variability observed with the first two axes. The CAH made it possible to structure these genotypes into four groups. MANOVA showed that genotypes in groups 2 and 4 exhibited traits of resilience against anthracnose disease. Group 2 was characterized by a relative absence of disease in the fruits (0.00 ±0.00) and by very severe infections in the twigs (88.19 ± 2.98). Groups 4 were differentiated by low fruit infections (1.32±0.32) and low incidence on fruits (2.17±1.09). These results should help promote the agroecological management of anthracnose disease, enhance and intensify agroforestry practices in Côte d'Ivoire.