Cocoa frosty pod rot is caused by a fungus that causes internal damage early into the growth cycle. External symptoms typically appear 40 to 80 days after infection, contributing to unintentional spread of the disease. The disease is spread easily by water movement, wind and the movement of pods. With the arrival of the pathogen in Jamaica in 2016, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic are especially vulnerable due to their geographic proximity. If the infection continues spreading in the Caribbean, about 223 thousand hectares supplying almost 100 thousand tons of cocoa beans to the U.S. and Europe will be at risk. The Dominican Republic alone produces about 250 thousand hectares of cocoa with the U.S. as its number one importer, making pathogen spread a major threat to the U.S. supply and thousands of chocolate industry jobs.
To mitigate the effects of frosty pod rot, CATIE researchers, led by specialist in the agroforestry, coffee and cocoa unit Mariela Leandro, Ph.D., are developing control strategies for combatting this pathogen and creating a network to share strategies with farmers to increase adoption of these practices.