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World Cocoa Foundation Research Update: January 2008

Robert D. Lumsden, Plant Pathologist and WCF Scientific Advisor

WORLD COCOA FOUNDATION:  The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), in cooperation with the World Cocoa Foundation (USDA), is pleased to announce the initiation of The Norman E. Borlaug International Agricultural Science and Technology Fellowship Program (Borlaug Fellows Program) Initiative for Improving Cocoa Production in Africa. The Borlaug Fellows Program offers training and collaborative research opportunities in international agricultural science, leadership and policy to combat cocoa pests and diseases; build trade and scientific capacity; and improve regional cocoa production and market access. Each Fellow will work one-on-one with a mentor who will coordinate the Fellow’s training and visit the Fellow's home institution after completion of the training.

The application deadline for the 2008 Borlaug Fellows Program for Cocoa Production Improvement is February 15, 2008. 

Objectives:

  1. Provide agricultural research scientists, faculty and policymakers with one-on-one training opportunities in the fields of agricultural research (see targeted research areas below);
  2. Provide scientists, faculty and policymakers with practical experience and exposure to new technologies that can enhance their own research endeavors;
  3. Foster increased collaboration and networking to improve agricultural productivity;
  4. Facilitate the transfer of new science and agricultural technologies to strengthen agricultural practices;
  5. Address obstacles to the adoption of technology such as ineffectual policies and regulations.

Targeted Research Areas include:Production Research (e.g. Organic Cocoa Production, Best practices, IPM); Post-Harvest Technology (e.g. Fermentation, sun drying); Policy Issues (e.g. Land-tenure); Extension Services (e.g. Farm Management/Co-ops, Niche Market Development)

Length of Fellowships:  Fellowships are generally for 4 to 6 weeks but can be slightly longer if merited. Eligibility Requirements: Candidates will be evaluated, interviewed and selected based on:

  1. Citizen of Cameroon, Ghana, Liberia, or Nigeria
  2. Good working knowledge of the English language;
  3. Minimum Masters degree with 3 years of practical experience or working toward Masters degree with 5 years experience;
  4. Early-to-mid stage in their professional career;
  5. Currently employed at a research or policy institution with the intent to continue working in their home country for a minimum of two years following their return from the United States.

Application Requirements: Eligible candidates are invited to submit the complete application including the following attachments no later than February 15, 2008.

  1. Application form
  2. One page program proposal
  3. Approval of the home institution
  4. Two letters of recommendation
  5. Official copy of transcript of college degrees
  6. Copy of passport identification page
  7. Two passport sized photos

For application materials, questions and to submit applications, please contact:

Karen Uetrecht, Agricultural Affairs Specialist, Karen.Uetrecht@fas.usda.gov; phone: (202) 690.3359

Natasha Acheampong,R&E Management Specialist, Natasha.Acheampong@fas.usda.gov; phone:   (202)720.0431

Direct link to the announcement and application is: http://www.fas.usda.gov/icd/borlaug/africa-cocoa.htm

RESEARCH GROUPS:  From Rob Lockwood, RandMLockwood@aol.com, Thames Valley Cocoa Club.  London, 19 December 2007.  How can cacao physiology impact on farmers’ livelihoods?

The meeting heard nine presentations.  Tim Wheeler (Reading University) summarised the climate change scenarios for the West African cocoa belt.   The most recent IPCC climate model projections run with the A1B (some control of emissions) scenario suggest that by 2100 temperatures will rise by an average of  3.3Co, which combined with little expected change in average rainfall will lead to higher seasonal  soil moisture deficits.  There may be a higher frequency of extreme events, such as wet seasons.  Paul Hadley (Reading University) introduced a new road map for the application of cacao physiology to improvement of farmer livelihoods, arguing that interventions by breeders, molecular biologists, agronomists, pest and diseases etc all impact on physiological processes, and that there is variation in them and the responses that can be exploited to the farmers’ benefit.  Morag McDonald (Bangor University) described work on native forest tree species as companion crops for cacao in Ghana which identified economically valuable candidates for use by farmers, allowing diversification of income.  Colin Campbell (Independent) continued the shade theme by summarising how the presence or absence and type of shade trees affect the ant mosaic and in turn populations of insects tended and predated by ants.  Andrew Daymond (Reading University) concluded the discussion of shade by exploring the implications for water, light and temperature in a changing environment, linking with the road map.  Penny Tricker (Reading University) extended the argument about the central role of physiological processes to the underlieing regulation of genetic information and responses to environmental cues.   Henry Dzahiniobiatey (Reading University and Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana) summarised recent molecular work on the infection process with cocoa swollen-shoot virus in genotypes differing in resistance to virus spread.  Anne Salifu (Reading University and Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana) introduced a new project to investigate the physiological basis of the reduction of growth rate observed when seedlings are converted into clones.  Rob Lockwood (Independent) explored the implications of this phenomenon for recurrent selection in cocoa, including the re-interpretation of much but perhaps not all of what has been explained as “hybrid vigour” in cocoa as an epi-genetic effect.   For more information see http://www.thamesvalleycocoa.org/

From the USDA Agricultural Research Magazine, “Fruitful studies in Puerto Rico. Lush climate and varied soils support research on tropical crops” features the work of  USDA plant physiologist Ricardo Goenaga and horticulturist Brian Irish,  in Mayaguez, Puerto Rica.  “We safeguard cacao, banana, and plantain, as well as sapodilla, mamey sapote, Spanish lime, tropical and temperate bamboo, and species of Annona and Garcinia,” says Goenaga. Irish serves as curator for cacao, managing a collection that was reestablished in 2000. No cacao is produced commercially in Puerto Rico. “But it is at risk from diseases that thrive in the warm, humid conditions of its native lands and that exist here,” says Irish. “That plus our variety of soil types and ecological zones make the island ideal for evaluating cacao germplasm.”

Horticulturist Brian Irish (left) and plant physiologist Ricardo Goenaga inspect cacao pods. The Mayagüez repository maintains a genetically diverse collection of cacao, comprising almost 200 accessions.  Full article.  

In addition to being featured in this article, Irish, Goenaga, and team, presented a poster and abstract at the recent annual meeting of the Caribbean Food Crops Society titled: “Microsatellite fingerprinting of the cacao (Theobroma cacao) germplasm collection at the USDA-ARS Tropical Agriculture Research Station.” By:

Irish,1 B. M., Goenaga,1 R., Schnell,2 R., Motamayor,3 J. C., Brown,2 S., and Zhang4, D. P. 1USDA-ARS TARS, Mayaguez, PR, 2USDA-ARS SHRS and 3Mars, Inc., Miami, FL, and 4USDA-ARS SPCL, Beltsville, MD.   

Cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) is an important cash crop in many tropical countries. Because of its outcrossing nature, cacao accessions must be propagated vegetatively to conserve their genetic integrity.  Therefore, cacao germplasm is usually maintained as living trees in collections in tropical regions around the world.  The large number of varieties and selections, its clonal propagation, the transfer between locations and the long term field maintenance has resulted in mislabeling of accessions in germplasm collections worldwide.  To study this potential problem in the USDA-ARS collection, all 924 trees (154 accessions x 3 blocks x 2 trees/block) were fingerprinted using an internationally recognized standard set of 15 microsatellite (SSR) primers.  Intra-clone error (mislabeling among multiple trees within the same accession) was estimated at 12.3%.  Inter-clone error (the mismatch between the DNA fingerprint profile of an accession in this collection and the fingerprint profile in source collection) was estimated at 25%.  The results of descriptive statistics showed that the 15 loci had an average of 8.8 alleles per locus.  The observed and expected mean heterozygosity values were 0.65 and 0.66, respectively.  Cluster analysis showed that accessions generally grouped together according to their known genetic background (Trinitario, Forastero and Criollo), with sub-clusters consisting of accessions from common breeding programs and/or geographic origins.  Also, 14 synonymous sets (plants with identical fingerprint profiles) were identified and the number of duplicated accessions ranged from 2 to 19 in each set.  The relatively high values for allele number and heterozygosity suggest high genetic diversity in the collection.  The microsatellite fingerprint profiles generated in this study are highly useful and will aid in the correction of misidentified cacao accessions.  Fingerprint profiles for cacao accessions will become available through the USDA National Plant Germplasm System Germplasm Resource Information Network (GRIN) database http://www.ars-grin.gov/.

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