Development of a Technique for Estimating the <em>Moniliophthora Roreri</em> Spore Loads of Cacao Fields

Abstract

Frosty pod rot, caused by Moniliophthora roreri, is the most damaging disease of cacao in Latin America. However, to better comprehend its epidemiology, we must understand its dissemination and proliferation. Still, we ignore how loads of M. roreri spores fluctuate across growing seasons since we lack a reliable technique to quantify M. roreri spores in the fields. Therefore, we developed a method that uses a spore trap to capture M. roreri spores and qPCR to quantify them. This study demonstrated that this technique could quantify 3.9 x104 M. roreri spores with a 95 % confidence level. However, it could not differentiate between M. roreri and its close relative, M. perniciosa. Despite this limitation, we could detect and quantify Moniliophthora spores from environmental samples taken from a cacao field. This technique can help the phytopathologist address studies more accurately in disseminating cacao pathogens.