Studies on the physiology of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.)

Abstract

SUMMARY Shading retarded the growth of cocoa seedlings infected with cocoa swollen‐shoot virus proportionately more than the growth of uninfected seedlings. Infected seedlings grown in bright light did not produce the swellings on stems and roots which were consistent symptoms of infection on plants grown under shade. The type of leaf symptoms also differed in shaded and unshaded seedlings. Attention is drawn to the possible implications of shade in the severity of swollen‐shoot outbreaks in farmers' cocoa.