Suchergebnisse

With the arrival of frosty pod rot (FPR, caused by Moniliophthora roreri) in Jamaica, the insular Caribbean is now home to three of the "big five" of cocoa (Theobroma cacao) diseases. Black pod disease of cocoa (caused by Phytophthora spp.) is ubiquitous in the region whereas witches' broom (WB, caused by M. perniciosa) and FPR are still restricted to a few countries. The recent arrival of FPR however, is particularly worrying since it is considered to be the most destructive of all cocoa diseases. Even though the Caribbean contributes little to global cocoa production, it ranks second when it comes to fine flavor cocoa. Moreover, cocoa remains an important source of revenue for a large number of people in the Caribbean. Unfortunately, much of the varieties grown, known for their fine flavor qualities, have little resistance to diseases, especially FPR and/or WB. On top of that, most cocoa producing countries in the region are poorly equipped to prevent the arrival of FPR or WB or eradicate them once they do arrive. Thus, continual spread of these diseases in the Caribbean will have a severe impact on the fine flavor cocoa sector and the livelihoods of those depending on cocoa. In order to prevent further disease spread within the Caribbean, it is necessary to implement a major programme integrating awareness raising, capacity building, and development of early detection and rapid response measures for eradication. Additionally, countries will have to prepare for when these diseases do become established. The introduction of elite, highly productive cocoa germplasm combining resistance to WB and FPR and good quality attributes is urgently needed. Good agricultural practices that enable maximal expression of these attributes should be developed with and communicated to farmers and other relevant stakeholders. Such an undertaking will have the added benefit of revitalizing the sector and increasing productivity. This can only be successfully realized however, through a concerted effort among all cocoa producing countries bordering or in the Caribbean. There is an urgent need to make this financially and politically feasible. Only through such a concerted effort will cocoa remain a driver for the sustainable development of the Caribbean. (Texte intégral)

The vascular disease Verticillium wilt of cacao (Theobroma cacao), caused by the soilborne fungus Verticillium dahliae, is often qualified as a "minor" disease. However, it can cause severe losses locally, for example, in western Uganda and northeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo. This disease is difficult to control, notably due to an extended host range and prolonged survival in the soil. Therefore, Verticillium wilt must be addressed through an integrated disease management strategy as employed for other tree crops such as olive. Few studies, nonetheless, have focused on how to confront this disease in cacao. This paper aims to provide an overview of our knowledge on Verticillium wilt on cacao and the integrated disease management strategies for preventing and controlling it. Promising avenues based on findings in other crops that could be adapted to cacao are also explored. Good agricultural practices, genetic resistance, biological control, induced resistance, and the use of organic amendments with or without biocontrol agents are discussed. Moreover, the potential benefits of some of these solutions toward the resistance to other cacao diseases, abiotic stress, and nutrition improvement are presented.

The chemical control is the widely control method applied in Cameroon for pests and diseases by all the cocoa producers without technical suitable assistance by the State as before 1980'S. However, it is known that farmers have less knowledge on the good pesticides use for the control of a specific pest. The objective of this study was to provide insight in current pesticide use in the cocoa sector in Cameroon. A stratified sampling scheme was used. A total of 251 cocoa farmers, 20 post-harvest cocoa traders and 37 chemical retailers were randomly selected and interviewed. The study showed that 35 different chemicals were marketed in Cameroon for use in cocoa: 4 herbicides, 11 fungicides and 20 insecticides. Of 251 farmers consulted, 96.8% said that they use pesticides on their farms while 3.2% did not. Fungicides were used most often by farmers 61.8%) followed by insecticides (38.2%). Eight active ingredients although, officially banned, were still being used on cocoa farms. Over 77% of farmers do not respect the official spray recommendations for chemicals. Moreover, 64% do not respect recommended doses. Two main pesticide-supply-pathways exist in Cameroon: a legal and illegal supply chain, which provides 51% of pesticides to cocoa farmers, resulting in an estimated loss of value added tax for the Cameroonian government of about 550 000 to 2.4 million Euros per year. These results suggest that improved pests and diseases control by the State and raising farmer awareness about pesticide use in cocoa could greatly attribute to more sustainable cocoa economy in Cameroon.