ImageJ-assisted agronomy: efficacy of cocoa mucilage against Rigodium implexum and yield
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Rigodium implexum moss negatively affects the productivity of cacao (Theobroma cacao). This study evaluated the effectiveness of cacao mucilage as a moss control and its effect on yield, integrating digital phenotyping with ImageJ to quantify moss coverage (%). The trial was conducted in Buena Fe (Los Ríos, Ecuador) under a completely randomized block design with four treatments, four replicates, and five useful plants per plot: chemical control (copper oxychloride) and mucilage at 75%, 50%, and 25%. Severity was measured weekly using standardized capture with scale, mm/pixel calibration, thresholding, and area measurement in ImageJ. The chemical treatment, 50% and 25% mucilage improved the number of flowers and fruits compared to the control; 25% mucilage achieved the highest moss control at five weeks, with observed reductions of 0% (week 1), 40% (2), 50% (3), 63.75% (4), and 77% (5). The findings support the use of mucilage as an organic and measurable alternative to mitigate R. implexum, with favorable effects on production variables and potential for adoption in sustainable cocoa management.
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