and the distortion of leaf and shoot growth. In the first year of infection, infected trees have a much decreased cacao yield, and usually die a few years afterward. Over 250 million trees have ...

Those methods include upping amounts of leaf litter to improve insect pollinator propagation, increasing the density of cacao tree plantings, utilizing taller native shade trees and limiting ...

Governments should support sustainable farming methods [such as] keeping leaf litter, offering moderate shade ... Intermediate canopy cover – of cover crops planted between the cocoa tree – can help ...

The study discovered that the seasonal leaf cycles of shade trees can significantly influence the productivity of cocoa agroforestry systems as well as their resilience to global environmental change.

TANJUNG REJO, Indonesia (AP) — The loud whirr of a chainsaw sounds through the forest as a small group of farmers gathers around a tree filled with red seed pods. With one slow stroke, a severed ...