International Journal of Forestry and Wood Science

Vol. 7(2), pp. 076-079, April, 2020. © www.premierpublishers.org. ISSN: 2167-0465

Research Article

Scientometric Analysis of the Main Cocoa Diseases

Maria Eduarda Sampaio Barboza1, Wanderson Silva dos Santos2, Westefann dos Santos
Sousa3, Sareer Ahmad4, Gesiane Ribeiro Guimarães5, Thiago Alves Santos de Oliveira6,
Elizabeth Amélia Alves Duarte7, Daniel Diego Costa Carvalho8*
1,2,3,8Universidade
Estadual de Goiás, Ipameri, Brazil
4Islamia College Peshawar, Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa, Pakistan
5Universidae Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia, Brazil
6,7Maria Milza FAMAM College, Cruz das Almas, Bahia, Brazil

In cocoa crops, one of the limiting factors in cultivation is the occurrence of fungal diseases that
are responsible for increasing losses in production and reduction in sow areas. In this paper we
perform a scientometric analysis of the articles, which focus on the six main pathogens that
causes damage in the culture of the cocoa. In addition, for the development of this study,
specialized browsing were made on the "Web of Science" portal using key words and scientific
names of the cocoa tree pathogens. In the general search, we obtained a result of 277 articles
published between 2000 and 2019, Moniliophthora (ex Crinipellis) perniciosa, Moniliophthora
roreri and Phytophthora spp., the pathogens with the highest number of published works
regarding the citations/article stood out for Verticilium dahliae (49.4 citations/article) and
Ceratocystis fimbriata (27.5 citations/article). A total of 111 journals was responsible for the
published works, 8 of them concentrated 41% of the total articles.
Keywords: Theobroma cacao, Cocoa culture, plant pathology, fungal diseases, scientometrics.

INTRODUCTION
The cocoa tree (Theobroma cacao L.) is from the
American continent, and native to America's rainforest
regions (CEPLAC, 2018). It is a plant that grows in shady
environments, that is, umbrophilous of arboreal and
perennial size, belongs to the family of Sterculiaceae and
Theobroma genus, planted in dark, moist, in variable
altitudes, protected by large trees (Salles et al., 2019). The
seeds of cacao have several uses, among them as raw
material for the production of chocolates and seedlings
and for the re-agroforestry that helps in the reduction of
emission of carbon gas (Venial et al., 2017).
In cocoa crops, one of the limiting factors to cultivation is
the occurrence of fungi diseases that are responsible for
increasing losses in production and reduction in planted
areas (Rodrigues et al., 2018). The main damages occur
in the leaves that become irregular and dark, in the young
branches, stems, floral pads and meristematic fabric
(Amorim et al., 2019). The Witches' Broom disease caused
by the fungus Crinipellis perniciosa, is one of the most
important cocoa diseases that losses annual crop
production up to 90% (Santos et al., 2020). Next, we have
the Moniliophthora roreri that produces moniliasis, a

Brazil is the seventh largest cocoa producer in the world, *Corresponding Author: Prof. Dr. Daniel Diego Costa
presenting an crop area of 704,122 ha, with an yield of Carvalho, Universidade Estadual de Goiás, Ipameri,
3,888 kg/ha-1 (FAO, 2017). Currently, there are many Brazil. Email: daniel.carvalho@ueg.br
cocoa crops that have been planted with seedlings Co-Author 1Email: mariaeduardasbb@gmail.com,
however vegetative propagation through grafting is more 2
Email: wanderson_18wss@hotmail.com,
favorable and resistance to diseases and increased 3
Email: westefannsantos@hotmail.com,
productivity (Lavanhole et al., 2019). Its economic 4
Email: sareerkhan2020@gmail.com
importance worldwide is explained by the fact that it is a 5
Email: gesianerib.guimaraes@gmail.com
commodity with expressive participation in exports and 6
Email: oliveira.tas@gmail.com
imports of agricultural products (Silveira et al., 2018). 7
Email: elizabethaad@gmail.com

Scientometric Analysis of the Main Cocoa Diseases

Barboza et al. 077

disease that destroys the cocoa bean and, consequently,
it harms agricultural development (Méndez et al., 2019).
The genus Phytophthora spp. mainly infects the fruits;
however, it also damages the leaves, branches, roots and
seedlings, resulting in 20% to 30% losses of fruit
production (Alves Júnior, 2013). In addition, another group
of pathogens that limit productivity is the fungus
Verticillium dahliae that because of its resistance ant its
control becomes a challenge (Ttacca et al., 2019).
Furthermore, the fungus Ceratocystis fimbriata, which was
responsible to block xylem vessels and caused leaves to
wilt and then lead to die (Antonio et al., 2019). The
phytopathogen Lasiodiplodia theobromae which is
polyphagous, with low pathogenic specialization and
causes symptoms of chancre e.g basal fruit rot, drying and
then lead to plant death (Santos et al., 2019).
Scientific analysis is classified as a quantitative survey of
science within an economic activity or discipline (Chapula,
1998). In view of this, scientiometry was developed in
1960, presenting methods and criteria to examine
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
In the general search, 277 articles were found. After
filtering by pathogens, 125 works were carried out on
Moniliophthora (ex Crinipellis) pernicious, 89 for
Moniliophthora roreri, 29 for Phytophthora spp., 15 on
Verticilium dahliae, 12 for Ceratocystis fimbriata and, 6 on
Lasiodiplodia theobromae, as shown in (Figure 1).
Regarding the citations obtained by the articles, it was
found that the 3 pathogens with the highest number of
citations were Moniliophthora (ex Crinipellis) pernicious,
M. roreri and V. dahliae (Figure 2). In contrast, the
pathogens that presented the highest ratio of average
number of citations / articles were V. dahliae (average of
49.4 citations / article) and C. fimbriata (average 27.5
citations / article). All other pathogens had a lower ratio
(between 2.0 and 22.7 citations / article).
140 125

Number of publications
scientific and technological productions, where the results 120
100 89
acquired through the same can be used to the
development of scientific policies for a determined area 80
(Bittencourt e Paula, 2012; Santos et al., 2019). In this 60
sense, scientiometry serves to identify the areas that need 40 29
15 12
more attention and evaluate scientific activities, using 20 6
statistical analysis and numerical indicators (Razera, 0
2016).

Thus, this study examines articles on the six main

pathogens of the cocoa crop published on the Web of
Science platform (http://apps-webofknowledge.ez163.
periodicos.capes.gov.br/), as well as their respective
journals and number of citations, comprising the time
interval between year of 2000 to 2019. Figure 1. Number of articles for each of the six main
pathogens in cocoa, indexed in the Web of Science
database, comprising the interval between 2000 and 2019.
MATERIAL AND METHODS

In order to carry out this study, specialized and

Moniliophthora (ex… 2427
individualized searches were made on the “Web of
Science” portal with the following keywords: Moniliophthora roreri 2002
Moniliophthora (ex Crinipellis) perniciosa, Moniliophthora Verticillium dahliae 741
roreri, Phytophthora spp., Verticillium dahliae, Phytophthora spp. 659
Ceratocystis fimbriata and Lasiodiplodia theobromae, all of
Ceratocystis fimbriata 330
which were added to the host culture name: Theobroma
cacao. Lasiodiplodia theobromae 17
0 500 10001500200025003000
For each article, the following were identified: year of
publication, periodical of publication and number of
citations. Based on the data obtained, column charts were Number of citations
made for comparisons: number of articles published by Figure 2. Number of citations obtained by articles
pathogen, number of citations for the total number of published for each pathogen occurring in the cocoa crop,
articles published for each pathogen and the eight journals according to a survey in the Web of Science database,
with the highest number of published scientific articles. comprising the interval between 2000 and 2019.

Scientometric Analysis of the Main Cocoa Diseases


A total of 111 journals were responsible for the 277
published works about the pathogens of the present study.
The journals that stood out the most for the largest number
of publications were: Phytopathology (24 articles), Plant
Pathology (21 articles), Biological Control (18 articles),
Mycological Research (13 articles), Physiological and
Molecular Plant Pathology (12 articles), Molecular Plant
Pathology, European Journal of Plant Pathology (9
articles) and Fungal Biology (7 articles), the other journals
had less than 5 publications (figure 3).
Figure 3. Periodic list that most published about diseases
in cacao, according to a survey in the Web of Science
database, comprising the interval between 2000 and 2019.
The pathogens with the largest number of articles indexed
in the Web of Science database, corresponding to the
diseases Witch broom [Moniliophthora (ex Crinipellis)
perniciosa] and Moniliasis (Moniliophthora roreri), are the
causative agents of these diseases considered of great
importance for the cocoa culture (Lins et al., 2016). Both
diseases are responsible for high losses in cocoa
production in Brazil and worldwide (Amorim et al., 2019).
Thus, Oliveira and Luz (2005) declaredthat the first step
towards reducing the damage caused by these fungal
diseases is the knowledge of their different etiological and
epidemiological aspects, and justifying the large number of
scientific work involving these causal agents.
The witch's broom causes damage to the branches and
fruits of the cacao tree, leaving them looking dry like an old
broom (Oliveira et al., 2001). The affected organs are
unable to perform photosynthesis and, as an aggravating
factor, the pathogen deliberates chemical substances that
are toxic to the plant, reducing its productivity (Toledo,
2012).
Considering the disease whose causal agent resulted in
the largest number of articles found indexed on the Web
of Science portal, this demonstrates a relevant search for
solutions that can minimize the negative effects of this
disease on culture, as an example, the authors
Scientometric Analysis of the Main Cocoa Diseases
Int. J. For. Wood Sci. 078
Thomazella et al. (2012), who report the discovery of an
enzyme that can become a promising target in the
development of new chemicals, in order to stop the
development of the pathogen.
As for the second pathogen with the most articles found in
searches on the Web of Science data portal,
Moniliophthora roreri, it corresponds to a basidiomycete
that causes icy rot of the ear, and according to Johnson et
al. (2017), this disease is devastating in the cocoa crop.
However, its first report was occurred in 1917 in Ecuador,
and is currently present in the main cocoa producing
countries in South and Central America (Barbosa et al.,
2018). This shows the great relevance of the pathogen in
cocoa culture and in the development of research aimed
at the study of this causal agent (Gomes and Pires, 2015).
CONCLUSIONS
A total of eight journals concentrate 41% of the total
published scientific articles on cacao diseases, when
consulting the Web of Science portal.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors thank the National Council for Scientific and
Technological Development (CNPq) for a scientific
initiation grant.
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Accepted 23 March 2020
Citation: Barboza MES, Santos WS, Sousa WS, Ahmad
S, Guimarães GR, Oliveira TAS; Duarte EAA, Carvalho
DDC (2020). Scientometric Analysis of the Main Cocoa
Diseases. International Journal of Forestry and Wood
Science, 7(2): 076-079.
Copyright: © 2020 Barboza et al. This is an open-access
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