New cocoa supplies

23 May 2012 – Researchers from São Paulo claim to have discovered how the deadly fungus Witches’ Broom operates.

The fungus ravaged the chocolate industry in Brazil in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Witches’ Broom mould is carried by the wind and only attacks cacao trees. The plant turns completely brown, and clusters of dead leaves and stunted little branches form that look like witches’ brooms stuck to the trees (hence the name).

The research, published in the New Phytologist Journal, by researchers from the University of Campinas, explains the exact mechanism that allows the fungus to attack its host plant, and the reason why it has been able to resist fungicides up until now.

Now the workings of the disease are understood, it is easier to discover a cure.

By eradicating this disease from Brazil, the chocolate industry could reinvent itself, something which is much needed when we are inundutated with reports claiming that cocoa supply is not keeping up with demand.

All of us can remember recent political events which resulted in the halting of cocoa exports from the Ivory Coast, causing a massive escalation in prices. By introducing  a large supply of cocoa from Brazil, we could reduce our dependence on the Ivory coast, and hopefully be subject to smaller fluctuations in cost.