The featured inventor profile draws on Preston E. Hall’s published cacao research, which describes a proposed tissue-culture propagation protocol for East African deployment. The research now has a pending patent and potential implementation towards building new industry in the agricultural sector.
| Somatic Embryogenesis in Theobroma cacao A Regionally Adapted Protocol for East African Deployment (A modular, scalable workflow for orchard‑level propagation) Preston E. Hall Merryland Village Orchard, Taita, Kenya |
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| Abstract—Global cacao yields are insufficient to satisfy the increasing demand for chocolate. Climate change, widespread plant diseases, aging trees, and low on-farm productivity contribute to severe supply shortages and rising prices, forcing manufacturers to alter their recipes. A propagation protocol is therefore needed to meet the growing demand for the tropical Theobroma cacao tree, which originated in the Amazon basin. This protocol offers a method for large-scale propagation of disease-free clonal trees that ordinarily grow in shaded environments… Read more |
