| Overview
The International Cocoa Genebank, Trinidad (ICG,T) is
situated on a 33 ha site, which was originally part of the La
Reunion Estate at Centeno. The establishment of the genebank started
in 1982, by consolidating diverse earlier collections of cacao
from several sites in Trinidad which included accessions from
other national collections and from numerous missions to collect
primary germplasm from the centre of origin of cacao. The
earlier collections also include the 100 Imperial College Selections
(ICS) which resulted from an exhaustive survey of Trinidad and
Tobago carried out by F.J. Pound between 1930 and 1935.
Trees in the ICG,T were propagated as rooted cuttings
using budwood from the original trees and, by 1994 over 2,000
accessions had been planted. Additional clones are added as they
become available. The genebank now contains one of the most diverse
collections of cacao germplasm in the world and has been designated
a Universal
Collection by
IPGRI, the International Plant Genetic Resources
Institute.
A main source of original material for the ICG,T was
Marper Farm, established by F.J. Pound following his expeditions
to the upper Amazon from
1937 to 1942. The trees at Marper though now old, have survived periods of neglect to
remain as an important anchor in confirming the identity of clones
in the ICG,T and
in replacing material which has proved difficult to establish.
Read more on the Site, Layout, Germplasm, Quarantine and Utilisation
of the ICG,T
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To
Contact Us:
Frank
Stockdale Building
The University of the West Indies
St. Augustine, Trinidad
Phone:1-868-662-8788
Fax:1-868-662-8788
Email: cru@cablenet.tt
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