Abstract

VERA MONTOYA, Raúl Enrique et al. Effects of cocoa mucilage supplemented with three levels of vinegar and molasses as a herbicide in cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.). Rev. Soc. cient. Parag. [online]. 2025, vol.30, n.1, pp.1-13. ISSN 0379-9123.  https://doi.org/10.32480/rscp.2025.30.1.0113.

The research was carried out on the Tres Potrillas farm, in the Ventanas canton, Los Ríos province - Ecuador, during the months of March and April 2022. The objective was to take advantage of cocoa mucilage with vinegar and use it as a herbicide in cocoa crops for weed control. For this, a Randomizad Complete Block Design (RCBD) was used, with a three-factor design, where Factor A isthe mucilage concentration (0, 25, 50 and 100%), factor B being the vinegar concentration (25, 50 and 75%), and factor C is the pruning (with and without pruning), resulting in a total of twenty-four treatments and two repetitions. The variables evaluated were: Yield (kg/ha/year), number of weeds controlled, percentage of weed damage (%), and percentage of foliar and floral damage (%). The results obtained showed that T24 stood out in the terms of variables yield, percentage of weed damage, percentage of foliar and floral damage. T1, on the other hand, proved to be the least convenient treatment by obtaining the lowest records, except for the variable number of weeds controlled where there were no significant differences. Finally, it was concluded that the combined use of mucilage (100%) + vinegar (75%) without pruning (T24), presents a great potential for weed control, thus allowing for improved productive parameters in the cultivation of T. cacao.

Keywords : bioproducts; weed control; cocoa mucilage; cocoa; vinegar.

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