By Zesha Saleem
Chocolate is in danger because of a virus spread by a bug that is infecting cacao trees in West Africa.
Swollen shoot virus is a disease that gets passed around by a fuzzy bug called mealybugs. These creepy crawlies like living in hot climates. The virus – described as one of the most ecologically devastating on Earth – has wiped out 50,000 hectares of cacao farmland in Ghana, which is the world’s second-largest chocolate producer.
However, scientists in Ghana and America believe they have cracked the code - and found a new way to stop the virus. At the same time, they aim to save one of the world's most beloved sweet treats at the same time.
Currently, 50 per cent of the world's chocolate comes from two countries - Ivory Coast and Ghana. Sadly, cacao trees have been deeply damaged by the bug. Ghana has lost more than 254 million cacao trees in recent years, while around 20 per cent of the cacao crop in Ivory Coast is infected.
Benito Chen-Charpentier, professor of mathematics at The University of Texas at Arlington, said: "This virus is a real threat to the global supply of chocolate."
While the cheapest way to protect the trees is by cutting down infected ones, and planting resistant trees, farmers can also give a vaccine. However, the vaccine is expensive and has a knock-on effect on the amount of cacao that the tree produces.
Scientists at the University of Kansas, Prairie View A&M, the University of South Florida and the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana have created a new way to tackle the virus, Metro.co.uk reported.
In their view, by planting trees at a distance from one another, farmers can prevent mealybugs from jumping from one tree to another and spreading the virus Researchers used mathematical data to work out the optimal distance to plant trees to minimise the virus spread while still maximising the land.
Chen-Charpentier said: "What we needed to do was create a model for cacao growers so they could know how far away they could safely plant vaccinated trees from unvaccinated trees in order to prevent the spread of the virus while keeping costs manageable for these small farmers,
"While still experimental, these models are exciting because they would help farmers protect their crops while helping them achieve a better harvest. This is good for the farmers’ bottom line, as well as our global addiction to chocolate."
