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Moniliophthora roreri causes frosty pod rot disease in cacao. The disease damages the cacao pods, rendering the seed useless. Yield losses of close to 100% have been recorded (e.g., 90% in Venezuela, 95% in Ecuador) and in many cases entire plantations have been abandoned once struck with the disease. Moniliophthora roreri is the sister species to M. perniciosa which is the causal agent of witches’ broom disease of cacao, another devastating disease of the crop.  Moniliophthora perniciosa is a mushroom-forming fungus, producing a fruiting body typical of the Marasmiaceae.  However, M. roreri has never been observed to produce a fruiting body, reproducing solely by the production of billions of conidia on the surface of infected cacao pods. The main goals of our research in this area are to understand the reproductive biology and life history of M. roreri and to provide better information to ultimately aid in developing effective control strategies. 

 

 

Pathogens of cacao
 

Identification of Frosty Pod Rot

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Several training materials have been created to assist farmers and diagnosticians in identifying Moniliophthora roreri.  These materials are freely available in English and Spanish.

Typical symptoms of frosty pod rot on cacao pods. Image from Aime and Phillips-Mora (2005) and reproduced with permission from Mycologia

Twenty-one day old culture of M. roreri; brown coloration is due to the massive production of conidia. 

Tetrapyrgos sp. photographed in Brazil, representing a typical mushroom-forming member of Marasmiaceae.

 Select Publications

 

 

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