ABSTRACT
The cocoa tree is susceptible to a number of diseases and pests that affect the yield of pods from the trees. Many diseases and insect pests are known to attack the cocoa tree and the pods leading to economic loss. Most of these diseases are caused by fungi and viruses. Five major diseases, namely witch’s broom (WB), black pod (Phytophthora pod rot [PP]), moniliasis pod rot (MO), cocoa swollen shoot virus disease (CSSVD) and vascu lar streak die back (VSD), affect the crop, causing about 40% yield loss per year. More than 1,500 insect pests have been found to attack the cocoa plant in different cocoa-growing regions of the world but a small number are of economic importance. These are the red borer, tea mosquito bug, mealy bug, gray weevil, cockchafer beetle, rat, striped squir rel and a host of others (Nair 2010).
