Abstract
Grafting is the most common cocoa propagation technique applied by farmers. One of the factors that determine the grafting success in cacao is the compatibility level between the scion and rootstock. The objectives of this research was to evaluate the grafting compatibility of half-sib family of Sulawesi 01 clone as rootstock with five superior cacao clones i.e. Sulawesi 01, Sulawesi 02, Sca 6, MCC 01, and MCC 02 as scions. The research was conducted at Pakuwon Experimental Station, West Java, at the altitude of 450 m above sea level with Latosol type of soil and B type of climate (Schmidt & Fergusson), from April to September 2015. This research used the randomized completely block design with five treatments of grafting combinations and five replications. Observation was taken at 14th, 21st, and 28th days after grafting on the total percentage of surviving graftings, percentage of sprouting grafting, percentage of grafting that have not sprouted, and bud sprouting rates. Data were analyzed by variance, correlation, and regression analysis. The results showed that the surviving grafting, the sprouting grafting and the rate of sprouting up to the 28th days after grafting varied among the scions. Based on the parameters observed, Sulawesi 01, Sulawesi 2, and Sca 6 demonstrated higher compatibility rate compared to MCC 01 and MCC 02. The results is applicable in seedling provision through grafting techniques in order to support cacao rejuvenation and or rehabilitation.