Cocoa crisis summary: What is black pod disease?
- Black pod disease is a fast-spreading fungal infection that threatens cocoa
- It thrives in wet environments and spreads via rain, water currents, ants and wind
- It is impacting yields in Cameroon, which has seen significant rainfall since July
- Counterfeit agrochemicals from Ghana and Nigeria are making things even worse, reports suggest
- It adds to existing problems caused by cacao swollen shoot virus in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire
The spread of highly contagious black pod disease disease is one of the most significant things that can happen to the cocoa industry
Cacao swollen shoot virus has been one of the major facets of the cocoa crisis, but now black pod disease is posing its own risk.
Black pod disease spreads
Black pod disease is currently impacting yields in Cameroon, threatening production even further, reports Reuters
The disease has been devastating cocoa production in the country, which is the fifth largest in the world for growing the crop.
Intense downpours since July have created ideal conditions for the disease to spread.
Furthermore, a surge in counterfeit agrochemicals, smuggled in from neighbouring Ghana and Nigeria, has made the problem even worse.
What is black pod disease?
Black pod disease, also known as brown rot, is a fungal infection that can have a significantly negative impact on cocoa beans. It particularly thrives in wet conditions, where unusually low temperatures alternate with warm.
The disease attacks various parts of the pod, but most prominently the fruit and especially those that are nearly ripe, according to Latin America’s Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE).
It produces a brown spot which spreads rapidly, taking only a few days to cover the entirety of the fruit. Internally, it causes a brown rot, hence the disease’s other name.
It is transported by splashing rain, water currents, wind and even ants.
Swollen shoot virus
Alongside black pod disease, cacao swollen shoot virus is another significant threat to cocoa production.
One of the main causes of the cocoa crisis, which has been pushing up prices of cocoa globally, it is a significant problem facing farmers in key cocoa growing regions Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana.
Main symptoms of the virus include stem swelling, vein clearing (when veins become unnaturally clear) and blotches or streaks on the leaves.
Leaves may die back or fall off in extreme cases. The disease can affect crop yield by 30-50%.
The virus, which thrives in warm conditions, is exacerbated by climate change, and shade can reduce its severity.
