Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Climate change is stressing rainforests where the highly sensitive cocoa bean grows, but chocolate lovers need not despair, say companies that are researching other ways to grow cocoa or develop ...
Cocoa beans and cocoa harvest processing. Ghana's cocoa production grew an average of 16 per cent between 2000 and 2003. [18] Cocoa has a long production cycle, far longer than many other tropical crops, and new hybrid varieties need over five years to come into production, and a further 10 to 15 years for the tree to reach its full bearing potential.
Phytophthora megakarya is an oomycete plant pathogen that causes black pod disease in cocoa trees in west and central Africa. [1] This pathogen can cause detrimental loss of yield in the economically important cocoa industry, worth approximately $70 billion annually. [2]
The supply of cocoa has fluctuated in recent years due to climate and economic factors. The El Niño phenomenon that hit in the year 2009 greatly reduced the cocoa production in the following years. The extreme weather conditions added to the impending financial crises to limit both the supply and demand for cocoa.
Just days after Israel's agriculture research centre, the Volcani Institute, sent 140 seedlings to a facility in southern Israel to study how this tropical plant could be grown in dry conditions ...
The crop is grown in Ivory Coast mostly by smallholder farmers planting on 1 to 3 hectares. [10] The pods containing the beans are harvested when a sufficient number are ripe, opened to separate the seeds and pulp from the outer rind, and the seeds and pulp are usually allowed to ferment somewhere on the farm, before the seeds are dried in a central location.
Bulk cocoa is distinguished from flavor cocoa using the subjective definition of containing undesirable or poor flavor, drying or fermentation. [3] Bulk cocoas have a strong inherent flavor. [ 4 ] They are regulated by quality requirements, which allow manufacturers to ensure homogeneity for what they add to blends, maintaining brand flavors.
The majority of cocoa farms are located in Ivory Coast and Ghana. [2] In Ghana, Cocoa contributes 64% of all exports. [6] Traditional cocoa farms are planted in the shade among other crops and trees. They are especially found in the tropical rainforest areas. [7] Farming cocoa beans is a long process and many factors can affect the farm's yield.