In-Situ High-Frequency Monitoring of Microclimatic and Edaphic Constraints in Grafted Mature Theobroma cacao Agroforestry Clones: A PRISMA-ScR Scoping Review

The West African cocoa belt, responsible for over 70% of global cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) supply, faces unprecedented threats from climate variability and unpredictable precipitation shifts (Adet et al., 2024b). Recent alterations in the onset, duration, and intensity of wet and dry seasons exacerbated by intense El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events have disrupted classic production cycles across Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana (Adet et al., 2024a; Adet et al., 2024b). Severe dry spells followed by unseasonal extreme rainfall have driven global cocoa market prices from historic baseline averages of ~$3,000/ton to unprecedented spikes exceeding $10,000/ton (Adet et al., 2024a). To build long-term climate resilience, agronomic research has increasingly prioritized mature, grafted clone varieties and elite commercial hybrids managed under optimized edaphic and microclimatic regimes. However, existing literature is characterized by significant methodological heterogeneity and persistent numerical inconsistencies between narrative claims in abstracts and raw Linear Mixed-Effects Model (LMM) outputs regarding the precise impacts of water deficit (Adet et al., 2024a; Adet et al., 2024b). Resolving these empirical discrepancies through a systematic scoping review framework (PRISMA-ScR) is essential to establish mathematically reconciled baseline eco-physiological parameters for mature, grafted cocoa clones under real-world field conditions.