World Cocoa Foundation Research Update: November 2007
From SomailiNet.com. Ghana: New hybrid cocoa to fight disastrous swollen shoot disease. October 18, 2007 11:45 am. By Bonny Apunyu. (SomaliNet) As part of the efforts to fight swollen shoot disease which has ruined at least 20 million trees in the country's east and now poses a serious threat in the main western producing region, Ghana has adopted a new hybrid cocoa, officials said. Swollen shoot is a viral disease which dries out plants' roots and leaf stems, causing them to produce small pods and beans that are unfit for sale. It has traditionally only flourished in the eastern region of Ghana, the world's second largest cocoa exporter. Once attacked, a tree has to be uprooted and destroyed. An official of the viral disease control unit of industry regulator Cocobod said its researchers had discovered a hybrid cocoa variety found to be tolerant of the swollent shoot virus. The disease does not disturb its growth or development of the pods up to maturity and harvest. All diseased trees were being replaced with the hybrid, he said. "We consider this not only as a major breakthrough in our efforts to reduce the effect of the disease to the barest minimum, but it brings some relief to the hardworking farmers that in the event of any attack, they will not immediately lose their crop," the official held. In recent months, the disease appears to have spread to the Western region of Ghana which produces most of the country's cocoa. In the Nsem district about a third of farms have been destroyed by swollen shoot. "Now, the disease is beginning to take its toll on the western region and it has been a major concern," the official said. A source close to the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana said Cocobod had stepped up an anti-swollen shoot campaign in the western region to forestall a calamity. The person said the disease had been contained in the past under a €700 000 (about R6,8-million) four-year campaign funded by the European Union which ended in 2005 and has yet to be revived. In addition to the hybrid, Cocobod was making progress in the use of fungus or other biological controls. Cocobod Chief Executive Isaac Osei had said the company was spending up to $90-million on disease and pest control, including the campaign against swollen shoot, this year. Apart from swollen shoot, Cocobod has undertaken mass spraying every year to rid cocoa farms of fungal black pod and capsid infestation. The two officials said the spraying and the use of hybrids has been effective and led to a significant reduction in the impact of diseases throughout the cocoa belt. "What we need now is enough funds to sustain the replanting," the source said. -Reuters. Full article.
MEETINGS: From Bertus Eskes: The first "Regional African Coordination and Resistance Testing Meeting" was held in November 2005 in Yaoundé. As part of the Year 4 work plan, the CFC/ICCO/Bioversity project is now organising its second regional African meeting. The main objectives of the meeting are:
1. To exchange information on progress obtained on activities supported by the project (with emphasis on breeding results, varietal output, participatory selection activities and resistance testing),
2. To analyse adopted working procedures and agree on any new methods in the project,
3. To plan further collaborative activities until the end the project (May 2009),
4. To interact with related regional or international initiatives, and
5. To collect proposals aiming at ensuring optimal exploitation of the results of the project.
CNRA has accepted to organise and host this meeting in Abidjan. The dates for the meeting are 18 to 22 February 2008. For more information contact Bertus Eskes, Coordinator of the CFC/ICCO/Bioversity Project Bioversity International. 1990 Boulevard de la Lironde Parc Scientifique Agropolis II
34397 Montpellier - Cedex 5, France Tel: +33 (0)467 61 2904 Fax: +33 (0)467 61 03 34. E-mail: b.eskes@cgiar.org, web-site: www.bioversityinternational.org/
16th International Cocoa Research Conference: will be held at the Hyatt Hotel, NUSA DUA, Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia from 16-20 November 2009. Organised by the Cocoa Producers Alliance in cojunction with the Government of Indonesia. Theme: "Towards rational cocoa production and efficient use for a sustainable world cocoa economy." The conference will be followed by INGENIC, INCOPED and INAFORESTA meetings from 23rd to 25th November 2009. For more information contact:
Cocoa Producers’ Alliance, National Assembly complex, Tafawa Balewa Square, P.O. Box 1718, Lagos Nigeria. Tel: +234-1263 Fax: 234-12365684. E-mail: 16icrc@copal-cpa.org
RECENT CACAO PUBLICATIONS:
**Franzen, M.; Borgerhoff Mulder, M. Ecological, economic and social perspectives on cocoa production worldwide. Biodiversity and Conservation, vol. 16, p. 3835-3849, 2007. (Socio-Economic199KB)
**Alves, R. M.; Sebbenn, A. M.; Artero, A. S.; Clement, C.; Figueira, A. High levels of genetic divergence and inbreeding in populations of cupuassu ( Theobroma grandiflorum ). Tree Genetics and Genomes, vol. 3, p.289-298, 2007. (Genomics&PhysiologyGenetics315KB)
**Amusan, A.A.; Shitu, A.K.; Makinde, W.O.; Orewole, O. Assessment of changes in selected soil properties under different land use in Obafemi Awolowo University community, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Electronic Journal of Environmental, Agricultural and Food Chemistry, vol. 5, p. 1178-1184, 2006, (Genomics&PhysiologyAgronomics100KB)
**Sodre, G. A. Substratos e estaquia na producaode mudas de cacaueiro. Thesis: Universidade Estadual Paulista Faculdade de Ciencias e Veterinarias Campus de Jaboticabal, Saõ Paulo, Brasil, Maio de 2007. In Portuguese. (Genomics&PhysiologyAgronomics486KB)
**Sodre, G. A.; Cora, J. E.; Souza Junior, J. O Physical characterization of sawdust substrate and containers for growth cuttings of cacao. <Original> in Portuguese. Caracterizacao fisica de substratos a base de serragem e recipientes para crescimento de mudas de cacaueiro. Revista Brasileira de Fruticultura, vol. 29, p.339-34, 2007. (Genomics&PhysiologyAgronomics113KB)
**Leite, J. B. V.; Martins, A. B.G. Effect of indolbutyric acid and cutting harvesting period on rooting of semi-hardwood cocoa cuttings. <Original> in Portuguese. Efeito do acido indolbutirico e epoca de coleta no enraizamento de estacas semi-lenhosas do cacaueiro. Revista Brasileira de Fruticultura, vol. 29, p.204-208, 2007. (Genomics&PhysiologyPhysiology99KB)
**Zobel, R.W.; Kinraide, T.B.; Baligar, V.C. Fine root diameters can change in response to changes in nutrient concentrations. Plant Soil, vol. 297, p. 243-254, 2007. (Genomics&PhysiologyPhysiology397KB)
**Sambuichi, R. H. R.; Haridasan, Mundayatan Recovery of species richness and conservation of native Atlantic forest trees in the cacao plantations of southern Bahia in Brazil. Biodiversity and Conservation, vol. 16, p. 3681-3701, 2007. (Environment&SustainabilityBiodiversity397KB)
**Efombagn, M.I.B.; Nyasse, S.; Sounigo, O.; Kolesnikova-Allen, M.; Eskes, A.B. Participatory cocoa (Theobroma cacao) selection in Cameroon: Phytophthora pod rot resistant accessions identified in farmers' fields. Crop Protection, vol.26, p. 1467-1473, 2007. (Diseases&PestsResistance165KB)
**Vesela, A.; Barros, A.S.; Synytsya, A.; Delgadillo, I.; Copikova, J.; Coimbra, M.A. Infrared spectroscopy and outer product analysis for quantification of fat, nitrogen, and moisture of cocoa powder. Analytica Chimica Acta, vol. 601, p. 77-86. (PostHarvestProcessing1047KB)
**Vissotto, F.Z..; Montenegro, F.M.; Santos, J.M. dos.; Oliveira, S.J.R., de. Evaluation of the influence of lecithination and agglomeration on the physical properties of a cocoa powder beverage (cocoa powder beverage lecithination and agglomeration). <Original> Avaliacao da influencia dos processus de lecitinacao e de aglomeracao nas propriedades fisicas de achocolatado em po. Ciencia e Tecnologia de Alimentos, vol. 26, p. 666-671, 2006. (Post HarvestProcessing1050KB)
The following publications can be obtained from the addresses indicated:
Kofink, M.; Papagiannopoulos, M.; Galensa, R. Catechin in cocoa and chocolate: occurrence and analysis atypical flavan-3-ol enantiomer. Molecules, vol. 12, p. 1274-1288. 2007. University of Bonn, Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Research Area: Food Chemistry I, Endenicher Allee 11-13, 53115 Bonn, Germany. E-mail: m.kofink@uni-bonn.de
Datla, K.P,; Zbarsky, V.; Rai, D.; Parkar, S.; Osakabe, N.; Aruoma Okezie I^Dexter, D.T. Short-term supplementation with plant extracts rich in flavonoids protect nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons in a rat model of Parkinson's disease. Journal of the American College of Nutrition, vol. 26, p. 341-349, 2007. Department of Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience, Division of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College, Charing Cross Campus, St. Dunstan's Road, London W6 8RP, U.K.