TURRIALBA, COSTA RICA - SEPTEMBER 11, 2017: Fruits of the CATIE-R1 at the Mother Clonal Garden in Turrialba, the main source of material for the establishment of new plantations in Central America and México. CATIE-R1 was selected due to its high yielding and tolerance to frosty pod rot (called in Latin America as moniliasis), caused by the Moniliophthora roreri fungus. Credit: Monica Quesada C. 
TURRIALBA, COSTA RICA - SEPTEMBER 11, 2017: José Antonio Alfaro evaluates cacao fruits that were artificially inoculated with spores of the fungus to select resistant varieties against frosty pod rot. This intensive labor, developed by the International Cacao Collection staff at CATIE, is the way to identify varieties of cacao plants that have genetic resistance to the disease. Alfaro is the field manager of the cacao plantings. He has worked for the project for 30 years, since its beginning. Credit: Monica Quesada C. 
TURRIALBA, COSTA RICA - SEPTEMBER 11, 2017: Wilbert Phillips-Mora (left) and José Antonio Alfaro (right) evaluate highly infected cacao fruits that were artificially inoculated nine weeks ago with spores of the fungus Moniliophthora roreri. This intensive labor, developed by the International Cacao Collection staff at CATIE, is the way to identify varieties of cacao plants that have genetic resistance to the disease. Phillips-Mora is the founder of the program and has worked with Alfaro for the past 30 years. Credit: Monica Quesada C. 
TURRIALBA, COSTA RICA - SEPTEMBER 11, 2017: Danny Cambronero manually pollinates a flower on a cacao plant of a variety that is resistant to the frosty pod disease, with another flower from another variety also resistant to the disease, at the International Cacao Collection at CATIE. Cacao’s frosty pod disease is caused by the Moniliophthora roreri fungus. Once the CATIE staff has identified two specific varieties of plants that are resistant to the disease, they manually breed them to develop a new variety that could be even more resistant to the disease, but the propagation of this new variety will also depend on the plant’s capacity to give a good production of a high quality cacao. Credit: Monica Quesada C. 
TURRIALBA, COSTA RICA - SEPTEMBER 11, 2017: Danny Cambronero manually pollinates a flower on a cacao plant of a variety that is resistant to the frosty pod disease, with another flower from another variety also resistant to the disease, at the International Cacao Collection at CATIE. Cacao’s frosty pod disease is caused by the Moniliophthora roreri fungus. Once the CATIE staff has identified two specific varieties of plants that are resistant to the disease, they manually breed them to develop a new variety that could be even more resistant to the disease, but the propagation of this new variety will also depend on the plant’s capacity to give a good production of a high quality cacao. Credit: Monica Quesada C. 
TURRIALBA, COSTA RICA - SEPTEMBER 11, 2017: A flower and fruit of a cacao plant at the International Cacao Collection at CATIE. Cacao’s frosty pod disease is caused by the Moniliophthora roreri fungus. Once the CATIE staff has identified two specific varieties of plants that are resistant to the disease, they manually breed them to develop a new variety that could be even more resistant to the disease, but the propagation of this new variety will also depend on the plant’s capacity to give a good production of a high quality cacao. Credit: Monica Quesada C. 
TURRIALBA, COSTA RICA - SEPTEMBER 11, 2017: Fruits from different varieties of Cacao, originary from many different parts of the world that are part of the International Cacao Collection at CATIE, Turrialba. Credit: Monica Quesada C. 
TURRIALBA, COSTA RICA - SEPTEMBER 11, 2017: Wilbert Phillips-Mora (right), leader of the Cacao Improvement Program at CATIE, explains how to graft a variety of cacao that has been selected by the Cacao Improvement Program staff at CATIE because it is resistant to the frosty pod disease and produces a high quality cacao fruit. Cacao’s frosty pod disease is caused by the Moniliophthora roreri fungus. The grafts’ host (rootstock) is a cacao plant that is resistant to a soil disease. The International Cacao Collection at CATIE distributes planting material of high quality and disease resistant cacao plants for cacao farmers around Costa Rica and Central América. Credit: Monica Quesada C. 
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TURRIALBA, COSTA RICA - SEPTEMBER 11, 2017: Sample of healthy cacao fruits that is part of the International Cacao Collection at CATIE, Turrialba. Credit: Monica Quesada C. 
TURRIALBA, COSTA RICA - SEPTEMBER 11, 2017: Fruits of the PMCT-57 variety of Cacao, originary of Costa Rica, part of the International Cacao Collection at CATIE. The CATIE´s International Collection of Cacao Varieties contents a high genetic diversity, which is the base of the breeding efforts. Credit: Monica Quesada C. 
TURRIALBA, COSTA RICA - SEPTEMBER 11, 2017: Fruits from a variety of Cacao from many different parts of the world that are part of the International Cacao Collection at CATIE, Turrialba. Credit: Monica Quesada C. 
TURRIALBA, COSTA RICA - SEPTEMBER 11, 2017: José Antonio Alfaro evaluates cacao fruits that were artificially inoculated with spores of the fungus to select resistant varieties against frosty pod rot. This particular fruit from the GU 185-G variety from Guyana has shown good resistance to the diseas. This intensive labor, developed by the International Cacao Collection staff at CATIE, is the way to identify varieties of cacao plants that have genetic resistance to the disease. Alfaro is the field manager of the cacao plantings. He has worked for the project for 30 years, since its beginning. Credit: Monica Quesada C. 
TURRIALBA, COSTA RICA - SEPTEMBER 11, 2017: José Antonio Alfaro evaluates cacao fruits that were artificially inoculated with spores of the fungus to select resistant varieties against frosty pod rot. This particular fruit from the GU 185-G variety from Guyana has shown good resistance to the diseas. This intensive labor, developed by the International Cacao Collection staff at CATIE, is the way to identify varieties of cacao plants that have genetic resistance to the disease. Alfaro is the field manager of the cacao plantings. He has worked for the project for 30 years, since its beginning. Credit: Monica Quesada C. 
TURRIALBA, COSTA RICA - SEPTEMBER 11, 2017: Fruits from a variety of Cacao from many different parts of the world that are part of the International Cacao Collection at CATIE, Turrialba. Credit: Monica Quesada C. 
TURRIALBA, COSTA RICA - SEPTEMBER 11, 2017: Danny Cambronero manually pollinates a flower on a cacao plant of a variety that is resistant to the frosty pod disease, with another flower from another variety also resistant to the disease, at the International Cacao Collection at CATIE. Cacao’s frosty pod disease is caused by the Moniliophthora roreri fungus. Once the CATIE staff has identified two specific varieties of plants that are resistant to the disease, they manually breed them to develop a new variety that could be even more resistant to the disease, but the propagation of this new variety will also depend on the plant’s capacity to give a good production of a high quality cacao. Credit: Monica Quesada C. 
TURRIALBA, COSTA RICA - SEPTEMBER 11, 2017: Samples of cacao fruits highly infected with frosty pod disease, caused by the Moniliophthora roreri fungus. A single infected fruit can release as much as 7 billion spores, and each one of those can infect another fruit. Credit: Monica Quesada C. 
TURRIALBA, COSTA RICA - SEPTEMBER 11, 2017: Harvey A. Wallace Building at CATIE, Turrialba, the main most iconic building. Credit: Monica Quesada C. Assignment for The New York Times in 2017.
A Battle to Save the World’s Favorite Treat: Chocolate
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Asignación para The New York Times en 2017.
Una batalla para salvar la delicia favorita del mundo: chocolate
