HOST PLANT RESISTANCE, CULTURAL AND MECHANICAL CONTROL IN COCOA R. Adu-Acheampong, A. R. Cudjoe, Y. Adu-Ampomah, K. Gorkeh-Sekyim 1 www.crig.org World cocoa production 2 Cocoa is an important cash crop in West Africa W. Africa produces 70% of the world cocoa Major biotic and abiotic stresses to cocoa production Black pod disease (cid:131) Mirids and associated (cid:131) Witches’ broom fungi (cid:131) Frosty pod Cocoa pod borer (cid:131) (cid:131) Swollen shoot virus Planting materials (cid:131) (cid:131) disease Soil fertility (cid:131) Vascular streak (cid:131) disease Mistletoes (cid:131) 4 Emerging disease and pest problems in West Africa Pink disease (cid:132) White threads (cid:132) Stink bugs (cid:132) Stem borers (cid:132) Termites (cid:132) Pod feeders (cid:132) 5 Black pod disease problem of Cocoa Black pod caused by (cid:132) several species of Phytophthora is one of the most-important diseases affecting cacao In Central and West Africa. (cid:132) P. megakarya is the species that causes most damage (up to 80% of pod losses). 6 Witches’ broom (left) caused by Crinipellis perniciosa Photo: USDA, SPCL 7 Frosty Pod caused by Moniliophthora roreri Photo: USDA, SPCL 8 Cocoa swollen shoot virus disease problem More than 230 million (cid:132) infected cocoa trees have been destroyed due to CSSVD (Dr Henry Obiatey, pers. comm.) 9 THE COCOA MIRID PROBLEM Adult of S. singularis Fungi Fungi