Cocoa fruit borer (Carmenta negra)
Carmenta foraseminis and C. theobromae are pod borers found in Latin America and the Caribbean. Not to be confused with CPB (Conopomorpha cramerella) which occurs in Asia and the Pacific, the symptoms produced by C. foraseminis are very similar to those by CPB, though C. theobromae is less damaging. C. foraseminis has been reported in Brazil, Colombia, Panama, Peru and Venezuela.
The larvae burrow through the pod wall and feed on the beans and mucilage inside, causing very similar damage to CPB.
Adult moth (right).
Courtesy CNCH, Colombia.
One concerning aspect of C. foraseminis is that, unlike CPB, it completes its life cycle inside the pod, with the adult emerging, making it more difficult to target the larval stage as a control measure [1]. Observations from Peru [2] and Colombia [3] reported that average yield losses reached between 35 – 50% (respectively) if infestation levels are high.
Research in Colombia found that parasitoid releases (Trichogramma sp.) and BT (Bacillus thuringiensis) were unsuccessful in managing the borer, some clones in the field were however observed to be less susceptible to attack.
Application of pyrethroid insecticide every 2 weeks for 4 months significantly reduced losses.
