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Archive Number 20091102.3778
Published Date 02-NOV-2009
Subject PRO/PL> Frosty pod rot, cocoa - Latin America

FROSTY POD ROT, COCOA - LATIN AMERICA
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Date: Sat 31 Oct 2009
Source: El Tiempo [in Spanish, trans. & summ. Corr.SB, edited]
<http://www.eltiempo.com/archivo/documento/MAM-3695873>


As a result of the International Cocoa Congress, the Colombian National 
Cocoa Growers Federation (Fedecacao) announced that in the coming days it 
would sign an agreement to advise Brazil and Mexico on the transfer of 
technology and provide training for the control and management of 
moniliasis disease.

While the disease is not ordinarily encountered in Brazil, it has been 
detected less than 50 km [31 mi] from the cocoa growing region of the state 
of Para.

[byline: Jacob Rojas]

-- 
communicated by:
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>

[Frosty pod rot (FPR; also called moniliasis), of cocoa is caused by the 
fungus _Moniliophthora roreri_. It is an invasive disease originally 
identified in Ecuador in 1917. It spread rapidly to other countries in 
Latin America during the 1970s and reached the northern boundary of the 
crop with its 1st detection in Mexico in 2006.

FPR can cause complete loss of production and is considered a major 
constraint to cocoa production in the region. It is a specialised pathogen 
that invades only actively growing pods of cocoa and related species of 
_Theobroma_ and _Herrania_, which may serve as reservoirs.

Affected pods show large brown lesions on the outside, but these may appear 
less serious than the associated bean loss inside the pods. Mummies 
(shrivelled pods) and internal necrosis are also common. The fungus 
produces large quantities of powdery spores giving affected pods a 
'frosted' appearance. Conventional control measures, including 
phytosanitation, have failed to halt the progress of FPR. Integrated 
management strategies suited to smallholders and collaborative resistance 
breeding programmes are being developed.

The related fungus _M. perniciosa_ causes witches' broom (WB) of cocoa and 
is spreading in the same region. It has ravaged production in Brazil 
(Bahia) and lead to abandonment of cocoa cultivation in many areas. Both 
pathogens have already impacted on the livelihoods of many smallholder 
farmers and pose a potential threat to cocoa growing areas in Africa and 
Asia if they are introduced there.

Maps
Brazil
<http://en.18dao.net/images/9/96/Map-Brazil.jpg> and
<http://healthmap.org/r/00YJ>
Latin America, overview:
<http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/samerica/printpage/samainp.htm>
Pictures
Frosty pod rot:
<http://www.globalplantclinic.org/images/Frosty_pod_rot_Moniliophthora%20roreri.jpg>, 

<http://www.dropdata.org/cocoa/cocoa_pics/FPR_pods_s.JPG>, and
<http://www.dropdata.org/cocoa/cocoa_pics/FPR_internal.jpg>
Double infection with frosty pod (left) and WB (right):
<http://blog.worldcocoafoundation.org/FrostyPod_and_WitchesBroom.JPG>
WB symptoms:
<http://www.worldwatch.org/brain/images/press/news/lg_WitchesBroom.jpg>,
<http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/espanol/kids/farm/story3/k8634-1i.jpg>, and
<http://www.fadiba.dk/Cocoa%20harvest%202.JPG>
Links
Additional news story (in Spanish):
<http://www.portafolio.com.co/negocios/agronegocios/ARTICULO-WEB-NOTA_INTERIOR_PORTA-6482369.html> 

Information on FPR:
<http://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/abs/10.1094/PHYTO-97-12-1644>,
<http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=15000016>,
<http://www.icco.org/about/pest.aspx>, and
<http://www.dropdata.org/cocoa/cocoa_prob.htm#Crinipellis>
First report of FPR in Mexico:
<http://bspp.org.uk/publications/new-disease-reports/ndr.php?id=012041>
_M. roreri_ taxonomy:
<http://www.indexfungorum.org/Names/namesrecord.asp?RecordID=317823>
Information on cocoa WB:
<http://www.oardc.ohio-state.edu/cocoa/witchbrm.htm> and
<http://www.apsnet.org/education/K-12PlantPathways/NewsViews/views/2004_04_views.htm> 

Cocoa diseases -- review, references, and resources:
<http://discovermagazine.com/2002/aug/featchocolate>,
<http://www.worldcocoafoundation.org/info-center/document-research-center/Cacao_DiseasesandPests.asp>, 
and
<http://www.apsnet.org/online/feature/cacao/top.html>
Information on Fedecacao and the recent cocoa congress (in Spanish):
<http://www.fedecacao.com.co/cw/index.php>. - Mod.DHA]

[see also:
Witches' broom, cocoa - Brazil 20090330.1222
2005
---
Frosty pod rot, cacao - Belize: 1st report 20051113.3327
2001
---
Cacao diseases 20010222.0341]

.................sb/dha/mj/sh



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