Incidence of cacao blackpod disease (Phytophthora palmivora) in relation to time of crop maturity in the Eastern region of Ghana

Data on the time of harvest and the incidence of pod diseases in two clonal trials at Tafo and in mature seedling cacao suggest that the time of crop maturity is an important determinant of pod disease losses. Late-maturing clones, in which most of the crop was harvested after mid-October, showed a lower incidence of blackpod (Phytophthora palmivora) than those in which more of the harvesting took place during the blackpod epidemic period, June to mid-October. The trials included West African Amelonado, Upper Amazon derivatives and Local Trinitario clones, which differed in susceptibility to blackpod