Phytophthora ramorum
Detection of "P. ramorum" in watercourses has emerged as the earliest of early detection methods. This technique employs pear or rhododendron baits suspended in the watercourse using ropes, buckets, mesh bags, or other similar devices. If plants in the watershed are infected with "P. ramorum", zoospores of the pathogen (as well as other "Phytophthora" spp.) are likely present in adjacent waterways. Under conducive weather conditions, the zoospores are attracted to the baits and infect them, causing lesions that can be isolated to culture the pathogen or analyzed via PCR assay. This method has detected "P. ramorum" at scales ranging from small, intermittent seasonal drainages to the Garcia, Chetco, and South Fork Eel Rivers in California and Oregon (144, 352, and 689 mi2 drainage areas, respectively). It can detect the existence of infected plants in watersheds before any mortality from the infections becomes evident. Of course, it cannot detect the exact locations of those infected plants: at the first sign of "P. ramorum" propagules in the stream, crews must scour the watershed using all available means to find symptomatic vegetation.
Black pod disease
There is no specific variety of cocoa that shows resistant to "Phytophthora" infections and the establishment and utilization of resistant variety will be most likely depends on the region. Numerous breeding programs have been established worldwide in order to screen and test for local hybrids for disease resistant of P"hytophthora spp". For example, a study in Cameroon assessed the performance of local cocoa cultivars (the southern and northern Cameroon cultivar) compared to the local and international gene bank cultivars. The local genebank cultivar consisted of F1 hybrid of Upper Amazon X Trinidad, and an international cultivar from Papua New Guinea, and Latin America were provided through International Cocoa Genebank, Trinidad. Based on the information provided by farmers and leaf disc test to assess resistant variety, the local cultivars selected from farmers field showed some resistant to "P. megakarya" compared to other varieties. Thus, it was concluded that there are some potential resistant varieties available in this area. In addition, some molecular work on developing resistant varieties to black pod is being done by CEPLAC (Executive Plan of Cocoa Farming) agency in Brazil and hopefully more breeding program focusing on black pod resistant will be established and produced commercialized resistant varieties.