Buba or cushion gall of cacao in Nicaragua
"Buba" or Cushion gall is characterized by a hypertrophy of the flower cushions developing along branches and on trunks of old cacao trees. Young trees, 3-4 years old may also present this abnormality. The affected cushions resemble dark brown, cauliflower like hemispherical bodies 1/3 to 3 inches in diameter. The affected trees appear to become increasingly unproductive with age. A somewhat similar condition was described by Rorer in Trinidad in 1911; by Nowell in the Lesser Antilles in 1923; and by Kevorkian in 1945 in Rivas, Nicaragua, who later reported cushion galls on cacao in Panama. A gall formation on cacao occurring in Costa Rica does not appear to be identical with Cushion gall of Nicaragua. There is the possibility that the Costa Rica type might resemble the Trinidad type. Small knobs or galls that occur on cacao are thought to be different from the Nicaraguan Cushion gall. There is no certainty about the cause or causes of this condition. Virus, fungi, mineral deficiency or toxicity effects, and inheritance have been indicated as possible causes. Isolations made in 1954 from the Nicaraguan Cushion galls rendered several species of fungi and bacteria. Mites and other insects were also found harbouring within Cushion galls.
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| Format: | biblioteca |
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Turrialba (Costa Rica)
1954
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| Subjects: | THEOBROMA CACAO, BUBA FLORAL, TRASTORNOS FUNCIONALES, ETIOLOGIA, VECTORES, NICARAGUA, |
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