There has been a symbiotic mutualism between the Mealybug (Pseudococcidae) & Weaver Ant (Oecophylla) in Theobroma caocao farm, which in effect causes a lot of pre-harvest losses & the entire decrease in post-harvest of cocoa.
This symbiotic or feeding relationship is of benefits to organisms. The mealybugs produce very energetic sugary substance called honeydew for the weaver ants. Whiles, the ants provide shelter or protection for the mealybugs through the weaving of their tents. These tents save mealybugs free their predators from preying on them. In this system of ecology, there is two chains of vectors having evolved, the weaver ants indirectly bring the pests-mealybugs into the Theobroma caocao farm which become harmless vectors(weaver ants). But the mealybugs are the real and secondly vectors the carry swellen shoot virus that kill the Theobroma caocao plant.
Actually the mealybugs don't spread the disease on only one crop, but varieties of crops are noted to be affected through this symbiotic mutualisms. But the most hurting aspect is the various cash crops like cocoa, oranges, coconut & mangoes which serve as the economic production for export earnings are lost during pre-harvest stage. The starting point of the disease is forest where there are enough of timber trees to host for mealybugs & ants. Especially where there are enough of canopy closure, then both mealybugs & weaver ants follow each other for mutual help. In effect, the mealybugs become the introductory vectors for swellen shoot virus. The disease swell the stems of the cocoa plant, bends them and finally the plant fall down and die. Especially on young seedlings, because they very fragile and tender they easily die pre-maturely. At an acute angle, the disease attack the young cocoa pods from the base & finally die off. Through this, most cocoa can die & alot of losses can occur. Because it is viral disease, it become contagious & spread quickly through the farm if not taken immediate control measures.
There have been an instances where a lot of cocoa farms are cut through the spread of the disease. When you go the the largest producing Countries like I'vory Coast and Ghana, because of inadequate preventive measures are not taken, the disease have destroyed so many yields. What is most important in this preventive measures is to tackle the disease from the vectors that carry & spread the disease. In this case, recommended chemicals should be used to spray the whole farm regularly. Make sure to also remove trees which have a lot of canopies to prevent excessive humidity that would tend to invite the mealybugs & the weavers ants. The farms should always be monitored for sanitation, the boundries close to forest should be cleared to ensure brightness in the farm. If possible, provides baits containers that have been designed with sugary substances that can trap the weaver ants in an attempt to eat the sugary substance. This can reduce population of the weaver ants, & also damage the symbiotic relationship between the mealybugs & the weaver ants. I think when this cycle is broken in the ecology, it becomes difficult to build the relationship, & hence, the mealybugs would be prone to attack by their predators. So, a close observation is also important in this process.
We know how it would be a great loss to the whole World when millions of tons of cocoa production incur loss. There would be shortage of chocolates or milo which fortifies our bodies with lots of nutrients such as protein, vitamins & energy. This will also meaning a lot of losses, since we always need tea to quicken or refresh the brain for work & during learning. Students, Athlets, footballers, children and many other prople suffers when cocoa ia lost in the World market. The shortage also will meaning the rising of the prices that will allow few people to chase for it. Therefore we can also take delight or responsibility of sponsoring cocoa farms as in most producing Countries, the Governments have been subsidising the cost of production of cocoa to motivate cocoa farmers to produce more.