Theobroma cacao beans, along with other agricultural products, were brought back to Spain at that time, but it seems the beverage made from cacao was introduced to the Spanish court in 1544 by Kekchi Maya nobles brought from the New World to Spain by Dominican friars to meet Prince Philip. Within a century, chocolate had spread to France, England and elsewhere in Western Europe. Demand for this beverage led the French to establish cacao plantations in the Caribbean, while Spain subsequently developed their cacao plantations in their Venezuelan and Philippine colonies (Bloom 1998, Coe 1996). A painting by Dutch Golden Age artist
Cacao necrosis virus an effective cultural control method. This does not prevent new spread although spread is greatly reduced due to the limited dispersal of the nematode vector and subsequent monocyclic cycle of disease No resistant strains have been produced, though a resistant cacao tree may be the best possible management option looking forward. A similar transgenic approach taken to combat papaya ringspot virus could work for cacao based on the type of vector transmission. Seed transmission is estimated to be up to 24% depending on the plant species so cacao plantations should be planted from clean seed stock. This disease is currently