Distribution of Phytophthora species causing Black Pod Disease of Cocoa : Distribution of Phytophthora species causing Black Pod Disease of Cocoa

Phytophthora sp. accountable for cocoa pod rot thrives better between latitude 20°N and 20°S, where the atmosphere is humid (>65%), rainfall is abundant (1,000mm≤Rainfall≤3,000mm), altitude is low (<400m above sea level) and there is plenty of sunshine, with ambient temperature range between 15°C≤Temp.≤32°C (Etaware, 2022). Therefore, this research was designed to identify various hotspots suitable for Phytophthora sp. Global review of the species distribution showed thatPhytophthora sp. were identified in some selected countries like Cote D’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Togo, Cameroun, Uganda (Africa), Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela (South America), Mexico, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Nicaragua, (North America), Spain, Portugal (Europe), Malaysia, Philippines (Asia), and Solomon Islands (Oceania). This will help cocoa farmers and researchers to effectively identify some of the diseases associated with their crops.