Of the several varieties of cacao, which is prized for its superior flavor?
A) Amelonado B) Criollo ü C) Forastero D) Trinitario
Criollo trees, which now account for less than ten per cent of world cocoa production, are universally preferred for the making of fine chocolate. Unfortunately, they are also the most vulnerable to the many fungal diseases — pod rot, thread blight, algal spot and sudden death, to name but a few — that afflict cacao in the humid regions where it is grown. Ghana, which led the world in cacao production in 1910, saw its prized industry reduced almost to ruins by swollen shoot disease. Even today, more than thirty percent of cacao production is lost to fungal diseases.
