A considerable range of cacao genetic diversity is currently held in national and international genebanks, including the international collections at CATIE in Costa Rica and ICG,T in Trinidad (give full names), and is made available to plant breeders via the international quarantine centre located at University of Reading in UK.  These genebanks are supported by both public funding and industry.

The safe transfer of material is essential for the effective conservation and utilisation of cacao GR at various levels, for instance for the transfer of seed collected from the wild or from farmers’ field to genebanks, for the exchange of budwood or in vitro material between genebanks or for the release of improved varieties from breeders’ trials. The fact that many economically important pests and diseases of cacao are confined to particular geographical regions means that it is particularly important that the risk of germplasm movement is properly assessed. The devastation of the cocoa industry in Bahia following the accidental introduction of Witches’ Broom disease clearly illustrates the importance of adherence to appropriate procedures. 

 
FAO/Bioversity International (previously IPGRI) produced Technical Guidelines for the Safe Movement of Cacao Germplasm, the most recent (updated) version of which was published in 2000 (E.A. Frison, M. Diekman and D. Nowell, 2000).Many of the diseases, particularly viruses that affect cacao, are not seed-borne and therefore moving GR as seed is generally considered to be of low risk.  However, most of the germplasm exchanged between genebanks is in the form of budwood to preserve its genetic integrity. Since there is a higher risk of transferring pests and diseases along with vegetative material, the Technical Guidelines recommend that budwood should be moved via intermediate quarantine, where material can be held in a non-producing country until it is demonstrated to be free of pests and diseases. There are also national quarantine facilities in order to reduce the risks associated with the regional movement of germplasm, and to allow post-entry quarantine of imported material. Such facilities exist, for example, in Brazil and Malaysia.

  Since the Technical Guidelines were last updated, a number of developments have taken place relating to the way in which germplasm is moved. The Cocoa Research Unit in Trinidad has been raising clonal material as bare-rooted micro-grafted plants for transfer to the Intermediate Cocoa Quarantine Facility at the University of Reading, since this increases the likelihood of successful establishment. Developments in tissue culture and cryopreservation techniques open the possibility of germplasm movement via somatic ex-plants and there is renewed interest in developing a method to transfer pollen.  A safe procedure for each of these new transfer methods needs to be developed. 

Changes have also occurred in the level of risk posed by known pests and diseases. Of particular concern, for example, are Moniliophthora which is spreading in Central and South America and Phytophthora megakarya which is spreading in West Africa.  The Technical Guidelines need to be regularly updated to take account of changes in disease threats and new information on the biology of the organisms. The currently recommended intermediate quarantine procedure involves a two-year visual screen for virus infection, since some strains of Cocoa Swollen Shoot Virus (CSSV) can remain latent for up to 20 months.  Recent developments in Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) technology have led to a probe that can detect a broad range of cacao swollen shoot virus isolates. PCR probes have also been developed for other pathogens, including strains of Phytophthora, Crinipellis and Moniliophthora.  Thus there is the potential for future modification of quarantine procedures to incorporate these new technologies.

In the light of these changes, it is proposed that an Expert Group is formed to review quarantine procedure for cacao GR. The Expert Group would consider the current pest and disease threats, quarantine procedures and legal aspects of germplasm transfer.  This would result in a revision of the Technical Guidelines for the Safe Movement of Cacao Germplasm, including intermediate and regional quarantine procedures.  The Group would also consider the most effective means of communicating to the cacao community the importance of safe germplasm movement. It is proposed that the Expert Group consist of the curators of the two international germplasm collections, curators of selected national genebanks, representatives of quarantine stations, a specialist on procedural and legislative aspects, as well as authorities on cacao pests and diseases and on the new technologies being developed to detect them.