Cocoa biocontrol
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KNOWLEDGE FOR LIFE DEVELOPMENT projects Cocoa (Theobroma cacao ) is an important commodity crop in Latin America and the Caribbean. Although production here only accounts for 15% of the world’s total, much of it is of a high quality, used to make speciality chocolate. so what’s the problem? There are however, constraints to cocoa production in the region: a major threat being the fungal pathogen Moniliophthora roreri , the causal agent of frosty pod rot. Frosty pod rot is only responsible for around 5% of cocoa loss globally but it becomes more aggressive and destructive when it moves into a new area, quickly surpassing and replacing existing diseases such as witches’ broom and Phytophthora pod rot. Frosty pod rot is a specialized pathogen that only infects the growing pods. Once symptoms appear the seeds or ‘beans’ are of no commercial use. Where conditions are favourable to the fungus, frosty pod rot can routinely cause an 80% loss of pods and farmers have been known to lose their whole crop. This devastating disease has only begun to spread through the region relatively recently (since the 1950’s) and can now be found in most cocoa growing countries in Latin America. Frosty pod rot poses a very real threat to cocoa production in Brazil and the Caribbean, as well as other cocoa producing regions of the world. helping cocoa farmers tackle diseased crops in a sustainable way Locations Costa Rica Ecuador Dates April 2007 – March 2011 CABI project team Jayne Crozier Keith Holmes Sarah Thomas
description
Flyer about CABI's ccoa biocontrol project
Transcript of Cocoa biocontrol
KNOWLEDGE FOR LIFE
development projects
Cocoa (Theobroma cacao) is an important commodity crop in Latin America and the Caribbean. Although production here only accounts for 15% of the world’s total, much of it is of a high quality, used to make speciality chocolate.
so what’s the problem?There are however, constraints to cocoa production in the region: a major threat being the fungal pathogen Moniliophthora roreri, the causal agent of frosty pod rot.
Frosty pod rot is only responsible for around 5% of cocoa loss globally but it becomes more aggressive and destructive when it moves into a new area, quickly surpassing and replacing existing diseases such as witches’ broom and Phytophthora pod rot. Frosty pod rot is a specialized pathogen that only infects the growing pods. Once symptoms appear the seeds or ‘beans’ are of no commercial use. Where conditions are favourable to the fungus, frosty pod rot can routinely cause an 80% loss of pods and farmers have been known to lose their whole crop.
This devastating disease has only begun to spread through the region relatively recently (since the 1950’s) and can now be found in most cocoa growing countries in Latin America. Frosty pod rot poses a very real threat to cocoa production in Brazil and the Caribbean, as well as other cocoa producing regions of the world.
helping cocoa farmers tackle diseased crops in a sustainable way
LocationsCosta Rica Ecuador
DatesApril 2007 – March 2011
CABI project teamJayne Crozier Keith Holmes Sarah Thomas
contactCABI, Bakeham Lane, Egham, Surrey, TW20 9TY, UK T: + 44 (0)1491 829080 E: [email protected] www.cabi.org/uk
what is this project doing?Conventional control methods, which are often labour intensive and difficult to implement, have failed to halt the progress of frosty pod rot and have led to a search for alternative control strategies. CABI and partners have been investigating the use of co-evolved fungal endophytes, such as naturally occurring Trichoderma species, as potential biocontrol agents. These fungal endophytes may offer protection to the plant from disease.
The main objectives of the project were to assess a large group of endophytic species of Trichoderma for their potential as biocontrol agents. These included experiments to assess their ability and effectiveness in killing or inhibiting the Moniliophthora roreri pathogen which causes frosty pod rot, and their ability to recolonize cocoa tissue.
results so farFrom our screening, 14 isolates of Trichoderma were selected for small-scale field trials to assess their biological control potential against M. roreri. Using cocoa pods in Costa Rica we compared their ability to suppress Moniliophthora roreri in the field and their capacity to colonize and grow inside the cocoa pods; important for good control. In Ecuador, we used cocoa seedlings to assess the ability of the Trichoderma treatments tocolonize cocoa roots, stems and leaves to see if they could stay inside the growing cocoa tissue for up to 6 months.
From these results, two of the most promising isolates Trichoderma ovalisporum and T. harzianum, were selected for large-scale field trials. Here, appropriate formulations and application methods will be developed and their potential use in an integrated management system for frosty pod rot could be assessed.
In contrast to chemical fungicides, the biocontrols we tested did not have any residual carry over effects from season to season.
Further research is being carried out by the USDA to improve methods of application and make formulations more cost effective.
www.cabi.org/cocoabioID
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PartnersCentro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE), Turrialba, Costa Rica
Instituto Nacional Autónomo de Investigación de Agropecuarias (INIAP), Pichilingue, Quevedo, Ecuador
SponsorUnited States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS), USA
Jayne Crozier, Project Manager
