Theobroma Cacao

Almost five million tonnes of cocoa produced annually drives the US$100 billion global chocolate industry. To sustain the industry, cacao planting materials (seeds and clones) have been successfully moved from the Amazon forests in America to the humid tropical forests of Africa, Asia, and Australia. In more than 150 years of commercial cacao cultivation, smallholder farmers that supply the bulk of cocoa beans still face several production constraints that impede their efficiency. Scientific technologies have therefore been deployed to remove these constraints by ensuring a continuous supply of good quality cocoa beans to meet growing global demand. This book provides insight into these scientific advances to address these current and emerging problems and to assure the sustainability of the global cocoa industry.

Essentially A Tropical Cultivation And Comparatively An Old One Cacao Is A Forest Plant, Capable Of Being Cultivated In Association With Other Tree Forms, Especially Those Belonging To The Leguminosae And Numerous Rubber Producing Types. Of Considerable Reference Value To Researchers, Scientists As Well As Growers, This Compendium Of Information On Cacao Spreads Itself From The History And Cultivation Practices To The Control And Management Of The Serious Diseases Of The Cacao Plants. Enriched With Tables Of Scientific Data And A Number Of Illustrations, The Text Describes The Botanical Characteristics Of Cacao Plants, Physical And Chemical Characteristics Of Cacao Soils, Chemistry Of The Cacao Tree, And The Principles And Practices Involved In Plantation, Harvesting, Fermenting Washing And Polishing Of Cacao. Available Information On Cacao Manuring And Yields And Uses Of Cacao Has Also Been Compiled. Contents: Chapter 1: Notes On The History Of Cacao, Chapter 2: Climatic Conditions In Some Cacao-Growing Countries, Chapter 3: The Botanical Characters Of Cacao Plants, Chapter 4: Varieties Of Cacao And Seed Selection, Chapter 5: The Periodicities Of Parts Of The Cacao Tree, Chapter 6: The Cultivation Of Cacao Trees, Chapter 7: Cultivation Of Cacao With Other Products, Chapter 8: General Operations On A Cacao Plantation, Chapter 9: The Harvesting And Fermenting Of Cacao, Chapter 10: Washing, Curing And Polishing Of Cacao, Chapter 11: Physical And Chemical Characters Of Cacao Soils, Chapter 12: The Chemistry Of The Cacao Tree, Chapter 13: Cacao Manures And Manuring, Chapter 14: Yields Of Cacao, Chapter 15: Diseases Of Cacao Plants, Chapter 16: Exports, Imports And Uses Of Cacao.

This book reviews the current state of knowledge concerning cacao pathogens and methods for their management. Topics discussed include the history, biology and genetic diversity of Moniliophthora species (which cause witches’ broom and frosty pod rot) and Phytophthora species (which cause black pod rot) that cause diseases resulting in major losses to cacao production. Emerging pathogens such as Cacao swollen shoot virus and Ceratobasidium theobromae (which causes vascular streak dieback) are also discussed in detail, along with many pathogens of significant local concern. Most of these pathogens represent major risks to global cacao production should they expand into new areas, breaking out of their current limited distributions. By considering cacao diseases as a group, similarities in the available tools and techniques used in their management become apparent, as do their limitations. Gaps in our current knowledge of cacao pathogens and the management of the diseases they cause are detailed, and suggestions for future research directions are provided. This insight allows readers to consider cacao disease threats from a more comprehensive, global perspective and paves the way for an improved synergy of efforts between the various research programs, agencies, and industries, both private and public, with vested interests in cacao production, and cacao farmers.

This book covers the biotechnology of all the major fruit and nut species. Since the very successful first edition of this book in 2004, there has been rapid progress for many fruit and nut species in cell culture, genomics and genetic transformation, especially for citrus and papaya. This book covers both these cutting-edge technologies and regeneration pathways, protoplast culture, in vitro mutagenesis, ploidy manipulation techniques that have been applied to a wider range of species. Three crop species, Diospyros kaki (persimmon), Punica granatum (pomegranate) and Eriobotrya japonica (loquat) are included for the first time. The chapters are organized by plant family to make it easier to make comparisons and exploitation of work with related species. Each chapter discusses the plant family and the related wild species for 38 crop species, and has colour illustrations. It is essential for scientists and post graduate students who are engaged in the improvement of fruit, nut and plantation crops.

The status of crop biotechnology before 2001 was reviewed in Transgenic Crops I-III, but recent advances in plant cell and molecular biology have prompted the need for new volumes. This volume is devoted to fruit, trees and beverage crops. It presents the current knowledge of plant biotechnology as an important tool for crop improvement and includes up-to-date methodologies.