The finding of relatively high levels of the antimicrobial compound clovamide in the leaves of a disease-resistant strain of cacao has significant implications for breeding trees that can tolerate black pod rot, according ...
Plants & Animals
Dec 23, 2020
1
43
Chocolate is almost universally adored. But few know the complicated process of how cacao beans become chocolate. Did you know cacao tree farming is done mostly by small-scale low-income farmers in Latin America, particularly ...
Environment
Oct 6, 2020
0
10
When Brazil refused soy grown on deforested land in the Amazon, the movement spread worldwide. Brazil's Soy Moratorium in 2006 became the first zero-deforestation agreement. And from cocoa in Ghana to palm oil in Indonesia, ...
Environment
Aug 28, 2020
0
12
Chocolate-producing cacao trees that are resistant to a major pathogen were identified by an international team of plant geneticists. The findings point the way for plant breeders to develop trees that are tolerant of the ...
Plants & Animals
Dec 6, 2019
0
123
According to the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO), global cocoa bean production in 2017-2018 was 4.6 million metric tons. The global chocolate brands couldn't exist without cocoa. But today the plant is under threat ...
Biotechnology
Jul 22, 2019
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6
As Halloween revelers prepare to feast on chocolate, a new study from an international team of researchers, including the University of British Columbia, is pushing back the origins of the delicious sweet treat.
Archaeology
Oct 29, 2018
0
243
Researchers analyzing the genomes of cultivated cacao trees have traced their origin to a "single domestication event" some 3,600 years ago. The discovery opens a new front in a long-running argument regarding when and where ...
Biotechnology
Oct 24, 2018
1
524
Ivory Coast, the world's biggest cocoa producer, announced Monday it would rip up 100,000 hectares (250,000 acres) of cocoa trees in a bid to roll back a plant virus called swollen shoot.
Environment
Jun 11, 2018
0
14
Use of the powerful gene-editing tool CRISPR-Cas9 could help to breed cacao trees that exhibit desirable traits such as enhanced resistance to diseases, according to Penn State plant scientists.
Biotechnology
May 10, 2018
0
19
Picture this: It's Valentine's Day, and you head out to buy some pralines. Except you can't find any. No matter which store you visit, gummy bears and hard candy have taken the place on the shelves where the chocolate hearts ...
Ecology
Feb 15, 2018
0
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