World Cocoa Foundation Research Update: January 2009

Robert D. Lumsden, Plant Pathologist and WCF Scientific Advisor

WORLD COCOA FOUNDATION: USDA/FAS/WCF Norman E. Borlaug International Agricultural Science and Technology Fellowship Program.

Abu Mustapha Dadzie, Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana, completed his fellowship visit from September 14 to November 13, 2008, at the USDA/ARS/SHRS, location in Miami, Florida.  His mentor was Dr. Raymond Schnell, Molecular Geneticist, Department of Plant Science, USDA-ARS-SHRS, Miami. Excerpts from his report:

Research work carried out during the training program:

Factorial crosses were made in an experiment designed by personnel of CRIG to widen the genetic base for resistance to Phytophthora and identify parents with good combining abilities for yield and black pod resistance. The mating design included three males and 10 females. This trial was established with 25 trees per plot in six replications, giving a total of 150 trees per cross. Two crosses, (Pound 7 x P30) and (PA7 x P30), have been selected for this study. The male parent selected, P 30 belongs to the Amelonado group, while the female parents belong to the Upper Amazon group. Currently, various traits are being recorded on a per tree basis including reaction to black pod infection under laboratory conditions.

The overall objectives of the study are to:

-Verify the identity of parents used in the existing factorial trial using SSR and SNP markers, and to use the informative markers to fingerprint their progenies to determine the fidelity of the crosses.

-Identify SNP and SSR markers linked to loci for resistance to P. megakarya in the two cocoa populations.

-Develop SNP markers for black pod QTL identification and also screen for off-types.

Achievements:

-Thirteen microsatellite markers have so far been used to amplify the DNA samples of the 206 accessions.

-Off-type trees in the two populations have been identified.

-Genescan eletropherogram peeks have successfully been converted into actual allele sizes to generate data for statistical analysis.

In the course of the fellowship, I had the opportunity to travel to Iowa to participate in the World Food Prize Symposium and side events organised by the Borlaug Fellows Program office of USDA. I was privileged to meet other fellows; we shared ideas and had fun together. The presentation made by some imminent scientists and other dignitaries was an eye opener. Issues addressed at the Symposium included the present world food crisis and the way to combat it, especially in the Sub-Saharan African region. I also had the privilege to meet and interact with Dr. Norman Borlaug.

During the last week of the fellowship, WCF organized a visit to some of the leading companies in cocoa bean storage, processing and chocolate manufacturing including Camden International Commodities Terminal LLC in New Jersey; and Blommer Chocolate, The Hershey Company and Mars Inc. in Pennsylvania.  This revealed to me technologies used in the handling of cocoa beans from the warehouse to the finished product.  I hope to complete the entire research by June 2009. This was made possible through a working arrangement between CRIG and USDA/ARS Miami.

Acknowledgement

I would like to thank Dr. Norman E. Borlaug, the USDA, and WCF for giving me the opportunity to acquire this training in molecular breeding at such an opportune time when I needed it for my M. Phil. research work. I would also like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my mentor Dr. Raymond Schnell and all USDA staff in Miami, Tracey Duffey and Bill Guyton of WCF for their tremendous support. I appreciate the contributions of Dr Juan Carlos Motamayor and Cecile Tando to my training and subsequent work. I also wish to thank the Executive Director of CRIG for nominating me for the fellowship. Finally, I wish to thank my Head of Division and colleagues at CRIG for their support.

Abu Dadzie using the thermocycler for cacao DNA amplification

Joseph Chuks Anikwe, CRIN, Nigeria, completed his program on The integrated pest management of the brown cocoa mirid, Sahlbergella singularis, from November 11 to December 22, 2008.  His mentor was Dr. Aijun Zhang, USDA-ARS-Plant Science Institute, Invasive Insect Biocontrol and Behaviour Laboratory, Beltsville, MD 20705.  Excerpts from his report:

This is the very first time that a cocoa scientist would be trained on the techniques of pheromone application in controlling mirids on cocoa in Nigeria. The specific area of Integrated Pest Management that I focused my research activity on was done with Dr. Aijun Zhang (my mentor) who is an expert in the use of pheromones as a tool in IPM. Up till now, I am not aware of the use of pheromones on any agricultural crop in Nigeria, and certainly none has been done on the use of pheromones as an IPM tool for managing the brown cocoa mirid in Nigeria.

I joined Abu Mustapha Dadzie from Ghana and Christiant Kouebou from Cameroon at the USDA facility in Beltsville, Maryland. We were conducted round Dr. Aijun Zhang’s laboratory. The Fellows gave their presentations later that same day at the conference room of the WCF in Washington DC. The day’s activities peaked with the attendance of a memorial dinner in honour of Bishop John T. Walker, hosted by Africare in which President George W. Bush was present to give a speech.

The following activities were achieved within the short duration of the fellowship:

It was a rare privilege for me to be exposed to techniques and modern equipment and also to be trained by a world-class scientist.  I have thereafter been given the responsibility of studying the behavioral ecology of the Brown Cocoa Mirid (BCM) in-country. Details of work to be done in-country have been spelt out and samples of volatiles to be collected as well as specimens of age-specific mirids in solvents would be sent to my mentor for further analysis and possible detection of a pheromone for BCM. It is worthy of mention that the objectives of the Borlaug Fellowship Programme which include networking between scientists from cocoa producing countries and their US counterparts have been achieved through this fellowship.

A major technique of particular interest to me as an Entomologist and which I also learned for the first time was the dissection of Euschistus heros in order to identify and extract the pheromone gland. This insect belongs to the same order (Hemiptera) and sub-order (Heteroptera) as the cocoa mirid. I was taught how to dissect the insect under microscope. GC-MS analyses were carried out and the results showed the presence of three earlier reported pheromones in the reproductive organ. Thanks to the USDA and WCF for this wonderful opportunity for research into alternative control of cocoa mirids, vis-à-vis the ban on some pesticides in my home country that left farmers with limited and ineffective methods of control of the pest.

In addition to my research activity at Beltsville other programmes/meetings which I attended were the roundtable meeting with cocoa scientists at the USDA, interactive session with the desk officers for Nigeria, Ghana and Cameroun at the State Department, and the biggest of all was the tour to Camden International Commodities Terminal, Barry Callebaut and the Hershey Company. The fellowship wouldn’t have been a complete success without these tours. The ‘bean to bar’ experience was my very first and my interactions with Scientists at Hershey and staff of the other companies allowed me to identify some missing gaps and opened doors for targeted research work back in Nigeria. I therefore have the responsibility to enlighten cocoa farmers through structures such as the Farmers’ Field Schools (FFS) on the need for Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) to obtain good quality chocolate and also inform them (farmers) of the consequences of sharp practices at the farm level. My fellowship ended with a seminar presentation of my research activities on 19th December, 2008.

The overall success of this project when completed will benefit cocoa farmers immensely because their over-dependence on synthetic pesticides with all its attendant side-effects would be greatly minimized. This will subsequently lead to increase in production of good quality cocoa.

I wish to express my profound gratitude to the USDA and the World Cocoa Foundation for making this fellowship come to fruition. Special thanks to my mentor, Dr. Aijun Zhang and his technical team at the USDA-ARS laboratory in Beltsville for the good working relationship I enjoyed during my stay. Finally, I want to thank CRIN management for the institutional support.

Joseph Anikwe being guided by his mentor, Dr. Aijun Zhang to connect insect antenna for GC-EAD Analysis

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