MARS LEADS THE WAY IN THE FIGHT AGAINST WITCHES' BROOM

COUNTRY: Bahia, Brazil and Beltsville, USA
THEME: Environmental

For many years Brazil was a major world producer of cocoa. In the mid 1980's its production reached over 400,000 tons per year, but within ten years this had plummeted to less than 150,000 tons per year when its cocoa farms were ravaged by the spread of the fungal disease, Witches' Broom (Crinipellis Perniciosa).

Mars, Incorporated, one of the world's biggest chocolate companies, was anxious to protect other existing and equally vulnerable sources of cocoa from the threat of this easily transmitted fungus. The global cocoa industry was concerned about future supplies of the raw material essential to manufacture its products.

The Brazilian Cocoa Institute (CEPLAC) partnered with Mars scientists at the research farm in Bahia, Brazil. Mars scientists and CEPLAC established an even broader network of scientists in leading agricultural institutes around the world. Work began in 1999 and was centered on two hubs, one in Brazil and the other at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in Beltsville, Maryland. To stop Witches’ Broom, this scientific partnership first identified the disease's natural fungal enemy, then began small trials in laboratories and fields to investigate the viability of using this natural adversary in the fight against the spread of the disease. Results have shown that the fungus is non-toxic to other funguses, and is now spreading on its own and is out-competing the pathogen. (Note: Trials done in controlled environments)

In Brazil, field trials have been successful and CEPLAC is using an innovative process to scale up production of supplies of the fungus. Marketed under the trade name of TRICOVAB and sold at a subsidized rate of $5 per hectare, it costs considerably less than other chemical interventions such as copper. Farmers are enthusiastic, spraying TRICOVAB not only on their cocoa trees, but also on off-cuts to avoid cross-contamination from already diseased tissue.

This project shows that environmentally-friendly processes can succeed, but that no one group can achieve effective change alone. Prakash Hebbar, a Mars scientist based at the USDA in Beltsville, says: "Using a broad base of laboratories has speeded up the development phase of an initiative that could have taken as long as ten years. We believe we are turning the corner and that pressure from the disease is reducing. Only 30 percent of the diseased trees have been treated, but there is a definite trend towards a reduction in Witches' Broom."

When Mars began this project its focus was on research, but now the partnership has evolved because of the commercial scale-up of TRICOVAB production. Mars has acted as a successful scientific catalyst, assembling a group of specialists to work on the problem. Together they have produced what appears to be a robust protection against Witches' Broom in record time. Not only are cocoa farmers in Brazil benefiting from this collaboration but, on a broader scale, the global cocoa community has a new environmentally-sound weapon available should Witches' Broom spread to other cocoa growing countries.

Contact Us for more information.