Birth of trinitario cacao: History intertwined with myths and edaphic and climatic factors

Abstract

Cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) is an understory tropical tree that originated in the Amazon basin (Van Hall, 1914; Cheesman, 1944; Cuatrecasas, 1964; Toxopeus, 1985; Wood, 1985a; Coe and Coe, 1996; Bartley, 2005). It is grown either in monoculture or in agroforestry systems. The fermented and dried cacao cotyledons (beans) are the raw material of cocoa mass, cocoa liquor, and cocoa butterfat for food and pharmaceutical industries. Global production was approximately 4.3 million tonnes in 2010-2011 (ICCO, 2012), global sales of chocolate confectionery exceeded US$100 billion in November 2011 (Almedia, 2011) and the global chocolate market is estimated to reach US$98.3 billion in 2016 from US$83.2 billion in 2010 (MarketsandMarkets, 2010). Cocoa is a major export of the west African countries of Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Nigeria; the South American countries of Brazil, Ecuador, and Venezuela; and the Asian countries of Malaysia, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea (International Cocoa Organization, 2011). About 40-50 million people rely on cacao for their livelihood (World Cocoa Foundation, 2012). Soria (1970) and Bartley (2005) described the various varieties (germplasm) of cacao. Primary cacao germplasm is currently categorized into 10 populations (Motamayor et al., 2008). The manufacturing sector recognizes three varieties of cacao, that is, Criollo, Forastero, and Trinitario. Forastero cacao is considered bulk cocoa and represents much of the cacao under cultivation. Criollo cacao was probably domesticated in South America, in southwestern Venezuela, and transported into Central America by the indigenous Indians (Motamayor et al., 2002). The palatability of the mucilaginous pulp on the seeds may have led to selection of particular types (Hart et al., 1998; Motamayor et al., 2002; Henderson et al., 2007; Clement et al., 2010). Although the Criollo variety is much sought after for its high quality, it is highly susceptible to several diseases (Lass, 1985). Trinitario cacao represents natural hybrids between Forastero and Criollo, which arose in different countries (Cheesman, 1944; Toxopeus, 1985; Bartley, 2005). Trinitario trees can have beans with ne avor attributes (Cheesman, 1944; Toxopeus, 1985; Wood, 1985a,b). The Trinitario from Trinidad is highly preferred, and its descendants are present in many cacao-producing countries. The Trinitario from Trinidad arose out of a still unexplained “calamity in 1727" (see Bekele, 2003, and Leiter and Harding, 2004, and references therein). This variety also provides a case study of the resilience of natural hybridization and the impact of natural disaster on the spread of cacao worldwide. In this review, we compare all possible relevant facts of the disaster and arrive at a new synthesis.