Integrated Pest Management in Cocoa Agroforests in Southern Cameroon: Constraints and Overview

Imports of pesticides have long been subsidised for use in the cocoa agroforests of the humid forest zone of southern Cameroon. With the liberalisation of the cocoa and pesticides sectors and the devaluation of the local currency (CFA franc), farmers are facing fluctuations in the price paid for cocoa and the high cost of farm inputs. Without the support of the extension services, they themselves have developed traditional integrated control methods based on the use of plant extracts mixed with conventional pesticides. From a survey of 300 cocoa farmers, the study assesses the farmers' command of these methods, the pests controlled, the problems encountered and the institutional constraints in the definition and dissemination of integrated control methods. The study concludes with recommendations for research and development towards the better definition and dissemination of integrated control methods. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Responding to Economic Crisis in Sub-Saharan Africa: New Farmer-Developed Pest Management Strategies in Cocoa-Based Plantations in Southern Cameroon

Cocoa is a key or source of income and poverty reduction in the humid forest of Southern Cameroon. Cameroon like other African countries went through a major economic crisis in the early 1980s with a decline in international commodity prices and significant changes in macroeconomic policies. Structural adjustment reforms following the economic crisis led to removal of fertilizers and pesticides subsidies, cocoa price liberalization and the overall withdraw of Government interventions from the cocoa sub-sector. Cocoa input price increases have been compounded by the devaluation of the CFA Franc, which doubled the prices of the imported pesticides which were considered key to the control of cocoa pests. This overall economic shock led to changes in cocoa producer's production decisions as a response to minimize cost. Among the changes the use of alternatives to imported chemicals for cocoa pest control. Farmers responded to the high prices of pesticides by developing, from local botanical knowledge and pest management strategies, which include plant extracts and plant extracts mixed with pesticides at different proportions. This is a major decision given the importance of imported chemical in the cost of production of cocoa. Valuable indigenous knowledge from farmers could be used also as an effective support system for communicating and diffusing modern knowledge and technologies to farmers. The paper describes the farmer knowledge-based alternatives to chemical pesticides for pest control in cocoa fields as a response to high pest control costs. Pest management specialists are urged to take advantage of this shift in practice and assess their effectiveness for further use. Two sets of questions are posed: (1) were the conventional insecticides, with all their problems, really necessary? and (2) are the materials derived from locally grown plants effective pest management agents or are they, in some way, placebos?     

发酵与焙烤对可可豆香气影响的GC-MS分析

采用顶空固相微萃取（HS-SPME）和气-质联用仪（GC-MS）分析未发酵豆、发酵豆和焙烤豆的香气成分,并采用主成分分析法对可可豆香气的影响进行分析。结果表明：未发酵豆、发酵豆和焙烤豆香气差异明显。从未发酵豆和发酵豆中分别鉴定出30和62种挥发性成分,主要为醇类、酮类、烯烃类和醛类,发酵后可可豆香气物质增多。在105、125、145 ℃下焙烤的未发酵豆和发酵豆分别鉴定出47、59、84和71、68、83种,主要为醇类、酯类、醛类、烯烃和吡嗪类,低温焙烤和高温焙烤的可可豆香气差异明显;酮类集中于未发酵低温焙烤区,酸类、酯类和醇类偏向于发酵低温焙烤区,呋喃类和吡嗪类等杂环类化合物指向高温焙烤区。这些香气成分的差异,形成不同处理可可豆之间的风味差异,可可豆香气成分的主成分分析可以作为可可豆不同处理潜在的评价方法。     

可可膳食纤维的制备工艺及物理特性研究

以可可果皮为原料，采用酸水解法提取水溶性膳食纤维和水不溶性膳食纤维。结果表明，可可水溶性膳食纤维的最佳提取工艺为：料液比为1∶30，水浴温度90℃，pH 2.0，提取时间30 min，得率为25.19%。可可膳食纤维总得率达57.99%，不溶性膳食纤维的持水力为5.23 g/g，溶胀性为11.42 mL/g。     

可可活性成分的研究概况

概述可可中的多酚类化合物、脂类化合物、蛋白质及膳食纤维等的活性成分，及其分析方法与生理功能的研究现状。     

Tree crop based agroforestry in Nigeria: a checklist of crops intercropped with cocoa

A survey of cocoa farmers in Bendel, Ogun, Ondo and Oyo States of Nigeria, carried out in 1985, showed that almost all the farmers intercropped other crops with cocoa. The intercrops included food crops such as plantain (92.3), cocoyam (85.7%), cassava (51.3%), yam (41.3%), maize (38.9%), melon (31.4%), cowpea (28.6%) and pineapple (26.0%) and tree crops such as oil palm (71.5%), kola (67.3%), coffee (41.0%), coconut (7.9%) and citrus (7.2%). Other crops are ewe-iran (Sarcophrynium brachystachys) and ewe-gbodogi (Megaphrynium macrostachyum) (45.2%), african walnut (Tetracarpidium conophorum) (42.2%), aligator pepper (Aframomum melegueta) (31.6%), and iyere (Piper guinense) (20.2%). Guava, mango, pawpaw and vegetables such as celosia, okra and solanum occur in cocoa plots at rather low frequencies. As many as six or more other crops can be intercropped with cocoa at the same time.     

世界可可生产、贸易与消费

就世界可可近半个世纪的价格变化,主要生产国的生产、贸易和主要消费国的消费进口等情况进行了较详尽的综述     

不同酵母发酵的可可果酒香气成分分析

以可可鲜豆为原料,选取酿酒曲増香高产型、葡萄酒/果酒专用型、32762、1425、1557、葡萄酒/果酒高活性型、1793共7种酿酒酵母进行发酵,利用固相微萃取和气质联用技术分别对7种可可果酒不同发酵阶段的香气成分进行比较。结果表明:发酵2周时,酒液中检出的香气成分分别为41、47、37、39、36、50、35种,其中葡萄酒/果酒高活性型酿制的果酒中香气成分种类较多;可可果酒中香气成分以醇类和酯类为主,主要的酯类成分为辛酸乙酯、癸酸乙酯、苯乙酸乙酯、乙酸苯乙酯、9-十六碳烯酸乙酯,醇类中乙醇和苯乙醇存在较多,其中苯乙醇为呈香成分,这些特征香气成分赋予了可可果酒独特的风味。通过仪器测定和嗅闻感官综合判断,葡萄酒/果酒专用型、葡萄酒/果酒高活性型发酵的可可果酒香气和口感较好,适宜大众口味。     

茶叶多酚氧化酶的基因克隆

本试验以嫁接可可茶为材料,提取了高质量的茶树基因组DNA,以纯化的DNA为模板,利用FS和RX引物组合进行PCR扩增,结果扩增出了约1800bp的片段,与预期大小一致。所克隆的PPO基因与其它茶树PPO基因的同源性达到98％,氨基酸序列同源性达到91％,确认为茶叶多酚氧化酶基因。     

Limited morphological,physiological and genetic diversity of Phytophthora palmivora from cocoa in Papua New Guinea

In Papua New Guinea (PNG) cocoa (Theobroma cacao) is one of the most important cash crops grown in the tropical lowland and island regions. As in most cocoa‐growing areas, phytophthora black pod and canker cause significant yield losses. Cocoa breeding activities in PNG are focused in East New Britain province where disease control recommendations are also developed. This study tested the hypothesis that there was no diversity in the Phytophthora palmivora population causing black pod on cocoa by characterizing the variation in pathogen populations within and between the five major cocoa‐growing areas. Diseased pods were sampled hierarchically from the five locations and additional isolates were collected from soil, stem and leaf lesions, or retrieved from culture collections. Morphological characters showed continuous variation within the range described for P. palmivora. Genetic analysis revealed that the isolates belonged to one dominant clonal lineage, with restricted distributions of several other subpopulations. Lowest diversities were found in the geographically isolated Karkar Island and East Sepik province. Soil isolates showed greater genetic diversity than isolates from cocoa lesions. Intra‐farm variation was as much as inter‐farm or inter‐province variation. Both mating types were detected, although no strong evidence of sexual recombination was observed. The analysis revealed limited geographic, temporal or host specialization, suggesting continuous selection for pathogenicity from a genetic pool of P. palmivora. These findings have significant implications on the deployment of cocoa genotypes, enforcement of inter‐province quarantine and sustainable disease management strategies.