In the years 1870-1920, Ecuador was one of the first producers of cocoa, with the largest production quotas in the world. Unfortunately, there were no prevention policies for the control of Monilia, which in 1915 was known as “Frosty Pod” or “Quevedo’s Disease” and “Witches’ Broom” in 1916, destroying 70% of the country’s cocoa production, plunging it into the greatest social and economic crisis in Ecuador’s agricultural history. Foreclosed farms, massive layoffs and migrations to the cities in search of new opportunities were the result of all these diseases that fiercely hit the sector with the greatest rebound in the country’s economic portfolio.
Homero Castro is known as the creator of the CCN-51 clone, a product that took this “specialist” his time to develop with excellent results the CCN-51 clone or Castro Naranjal Collection as it is also known; it is a very disease resistant cocoa resulting in productive crops of very good quality.
This clone was born in 1965 and has the following benefits:
- High productivity (2- 2.5 tons/ha).
- Tolerant to monilla and witches’ broom.
- Small tree, abundant in fruit and easy to handle.
- Large cobs (8.5 cobs = 1 lb. of dry cocoa)
- Production begins in the second year of planting.
- It allows a higher factory yield due to its high butter content (54%) in its fruits.
- If fermented in the right way, it can generate a magnificent flavor and aroma that allows it to reach up to a certain point to that of national cocoa or above.
This discovery allowed Ecuador to have another cocoa boom in the 70’s, allowing the economy to stabilize and generating jobs.
Currently, our farmers choose to plant more CNN-51 cocoa than traditional cocoa for the multiple benefits it brings, however, there is a traditional and conservative market that still demands fine aroma cocoa, so it is important that the crops maintain a balance of production and that each time the fermentation processes become more specialized in order to enhance the CCN-51 cocoa and allow its development not only in productivity but also in quality.
