Cocoa plantations in eastern Ivory Coast, the world’s biggest producer, are seeing an increased incidence of a virulent form of fungal pod rot which has slunk over the border from Ghana.
The new pod rot variety, phytophthora megakarya, began to appear in eastern Ivory Coast a few years ago, having entered Ghana from Nigeria in 1989.
”For the moment, megakarya in Ivory coast remains in a restricted area near the Ghanaian border. But they really must do something about it, because left uncontrolled the effects are really terrible,” agronomist Francois Ruf of France’s international agricultural research centre (Cirad) said.
”At the start of the last main crop (2001/02) season, I saw some trees affected by megakarya and it was quite scary,” Ruf said.
”Out of 100 pods harvested, there were at least 70 completely ruined.”
Ruf added that the mid-crop harvest which is just tailing off was less gravely affected.
”I don’t have any precise figures yet, but there must be at least 50% loss of pods in affected trees (in the eastern Ivory Coast region),” he said.
Government sources said output in the eastern region around Abengourou represented around six to seven percent of total output of around 1,2-million tons.
The area is some 270 kilometres as the crow flies from the main western cocoa belt.
A UK-based cocoa analyst said that megakarya was not an immediate threat to Ivorian production. ”But if it is not controlled it will cause problems five to 10 years down the road,” he said.
NOT A NEW PROBLEM
Black pod, pod rot, brown rot — the fungus comes under many names. But the megakarya variety wreaks the most havoc.
”It didn’t exist until 1979, when it was studied very carefully by a team in (Nigeria’s) Ibadan cocoa research institute,” said a UK-based researcher who declined to be named.
Fortunately, the disease, which turns cocoa pods completely black and rotten, does not travel too quickly and took 10 years to make its way into the world’s second biggest producer Ghana.
”As soon as they found it, the Ghanaians were very responsible…but it moved across the frontier (with Ivory Coast),” the researcher said.
He said that once the megakarya pathogen enters a plantation, it rapidly becomes the dominant species, squeezing out the more common form of black pod, carnivora.
Operators contacted by Reuters were uncertain as to whether Ivorian authorities had officially admitted the problem.
”But most people within the cocoa community say that megakarya is here,” Ruf said.
Government sources said that Ivory Coast’s National Agronomic Research Centre (CNRA) was looking into the problem. The CNRA was not immediately available for comment.
A representative for Ivory Coast’s Anopaci association, which groups together private agricultural organisations in the country, told Reuters that they wanted help for farmers.
”It (megakarya) is becoming a worry. We would like the authorities to help, via research and funding, to make sure this disease stays out of our country,” he said.
”We do not want any loss of production because of it. We have to do something right now.”
Anopaci’s latest monthly newspaper carried a big picture of pods affected by megakarya on its front page, with the message: ”Cocoa farmers, a great threat to your plantations. A new type of black pod fungus, which can cause up to 90% loss of production, has been let loose in the East of our country”.
REGULAR SPRAYING
”Control is not particularly simple, but it can be done with copper sprays… but it needs to be done regularly and extensively and they (chemicals) are actually quite expensive,” the UK-based researcher said.
Ghana’s cocoa regulatory body Cocobod has embarked upon a spraying programme to treat the upcoming 2002/03 crop for black pod, having suffered production losses the previous season.
The $23-million programme began in early June at the start of the rainy season, as the fungus thrives in humid conditions.
”We reckon they lost probably 75 000 tons last year to it,” the UK-based analyst said. Ghana’s total cocoa production in 2001-2002 was estimated at between 360 000 and 390 000 tons.
”If they control it, as they won’t eliminate it, they could probably reduce those losses to 15 000 to 20 000 tons. But it is not going to go away”, the analyst added. – Reuters