Performance of Theobroma cacao (L.) Seedlings Irrigated with Water from Different Sources

Reliability of six irrigation water sources (stream, borehole, river, well, rain and sea) for raising cacao (Theobroma cacao L.; varieties F sub(3) Amazon and Amelonado) seedlings was Investigated, using 6x2 factorial experiment, replicated three times in completely randomized design. Plant vigor was assessed with height growth; stem girth, number of leaves, leaf area and canopy spread data taken at 3 weeks interval. Due to declining growth rate, seawater-irrigated seedlings' biomass production, percentage tissue Nitrogen (N) and percentage tissue Phosphorus (P) were evaluated at 9 Weeks after Sowing (WAS) while the same parameters were determined at 24 WAS for seedlings irrigated with water from other sources. Only stream- and rain- waters had pH < 8 while seawater had Electrical Conductivity (EC sub(25)) that was over 200 times higher than for each of the other sources. Seedling performance was best with stream water and poorest with seawater. Performance differences among seedlings irrigated with water from borehole, river, well and rain were insignificant (p