Future Prospects for Improvements in Disease Management

Abstract

The previous chapter dealt with recommendations for the management of witches’ broom. However, these methods are not universally viable and are not sustainable in times of adverse economic conditions even for those farmers who are willing to manage their crop intensively. It was also stated in the conclusion of Chapter 15 that the large number of low-input farmers would not consider the application of any treatments for the management of witches’ broom. Long-term solutions need to be found for economically stable maintenance of tolerably healthy productive cocoa, and particularly for areas of high witches’ broom incidence where sanitation is at best only marginally applicable. The IWBP did not have the resources to consider such problems, but thought was given to the strategies required to research and develop alternative techniques.