University celebrates chocolate at Chelsea Flower Show
Tuesday, 17 May 2011
Andrew Daymond, University Research Fellow prepares the stand for Chelsea
'WeÔÇÖre really looking forward to the week and engaging with the public about this very important crop. Everyone loves chocolate so IÔÇÖm sure we will have a lot of interest'
Once again, the School of Biological Sciences will be exhibiting at Chelsea Flower Show next week. This year, visitors will discover the role the University of Reading is playing in safeguarding the future of chocolate.
Reading is home to the International Cocoa Quarantine Centre (ICQC), which handles all international movement of cocoa breeding material and is the only facility of its kind in the world.
Andrew Daymond, University Research Fellow and co-ordinator of the ICQC, said: "Our exhibit is entitled ‘Your chocolate world secured' and we explain all about the problems and challenges cocoa growers face, the work we do at Reading to ensure that different types of cocoa are transferred between regions in a safe manner and research into how the crop responds to changing environmental conditions.
"We're really looking forward to the week and engaging with the public about this very important crop. Everyone loves chocolate so I'm sure we will have a lot of interest!"
"I would like to thank Heather Lake and my colleagues in the ICQC and students from the Department of Typography and Graphic Communication, Matthew Lickiss and Thomas Derrett who helped to design the stand that is going to Chelsea".
Experts from the School of Biological Sciences will be on hand all week to explain the important research being undertaken at Reading, including a five-year project to assess the threat climate change poses to cocoa. Cocoa production faces significant problems from increasing global temperatures and more varied rainfall. Using state-of-the-art greenhouses that simulate current and predicted climate conditions in cocoa-growing regions, Reading researchers aim to identify traits that crop breeders can select for when developing new cocoa varieties better suited to likely future climates.
Cocoa is one of the most important sources of income for many countries in the humid tropics. Together, Ghana and The Ivory Coast produce nearly 70% of the world's supply. For Ghana, where cocoa is grown by smallholder farmers, cocoa accounts for over 40% of total export revenues and two million people are involved either directly or indirectly in its production.
Chelsea Flower Show runs from the 24-28 May.