Cocoa And Chocolate
The Tree, The Bean The Beverage

CULTIVATION OF THE CACAO BEAN 4^ Although, no doubt, healthy trees are more able to withstand the attacks of insects, a number of these pests are always present even in countries were cultiva-tion is carefully and scientifically carried out. Thus in Grenada in 1920, the following insects were recorded (in the West Indian Bulletin) as locally severe : Thrips (Heliothrips rubrocinctus Giard), the acrobat ant and termites ; while the presence of borer beetles, scale insects and mealy-bugs was also noted. The planters have generally recognised these insects as enemies ; they have not, however, always known sufficient of their habits to determine the most satis-factory means of destroying them, and the researches carried out by the various departments of agriculture have been of material help in this direction. Spraying is moderately successful in some cases; thus to destroy the mole cricket a spray of Paris green is recommended, and thrips are killed by spraying with kerosine emulsion, or an emulsion of tar in caustic alkali. In Navel’s book1 on the principal enemies of cacao there are illustrations showing a small army of workers in San Thomé going into the plantation to fight the thrips with spraying machines. The helio-peltis bugs have an annoying indifference to sprays, and an attempt is made to reduce their numbers by catching them with the help of cobwebs or sticky sub-stances. Sprays are useless for the borer beetle as the larvae (whitish translucent grubs about 1 in. long) spend their time cutting spiral tunnels underneath the bark. The usual method of dealing with this pest is to cut along the tunnel, destroy the larvae and tar the wound. Before leaving the subject of pests, mention must be 1 Les Principaux Ennemis du Cacaoyer aux Iles de San Thomé et de Principe, by H. C. Navel (1921).