Cocoa And Chocolate
The Tree, The Bean The Beverage

CULTIVATION OF THE CACAO BEAN 47 formidable list detailed by Van Hall, as being some of the most important— DISEASES OF THE CACAO TREE Name of Fungus. Name of Disease. Part Attacked. Phytophthora Faberi Diplodia cacaoiccla Colletotrichum luxi-ficwn Canker Chupon wilt Black rot Die-back Witch Broom The stem The leaves and twigs The pods The stem The leaves and twigs The pods The reader will notice that a single fungus, Phytophthora Faberi, causes stem canker, chupon wilt and black rot of the pods. This and Diplodia cacaoicola (Thyri-daria tarda) are the most widely distributed of fungoid diseases. The Surinam witch-broom disease, though not widely distributed, is important on account of its disastrous effects. Happily it has not been seen save in Surinam, Demerara and Ecuador. It is called witch-broom because it induces extraordinary growths resembling brooms. The effects of its ravages in Surinam in the years about 1900, were shown. by the diminution of the cacao crop ; in 1895 the amount of cacao exported was 4,450 tons and by 1904, it had fallen to 856 tons. The method of fighting the disease consists in removing the entire leaf-bearing crown of the tree, putting black tar on the wounds and then spraying with a three per cent solution of blue stone (copper sulphate) to destroy any spores. The success which has attended this treatment is reflected in the amount of cacao exported, which since 1913 has always been greater than 1,600 tons. In 1922 it was reported that this deadly disease had broken out in Ecuador, in the Balao district, and steps were immediately taken to control it, but whether the planters in Ecuador will