The University of Reading，in England，has just opened a new clearing house for all the world's new cocoa varieties.They must be quarantined(进行检疫)before they can be grown.Why？Cocoa production hit a record high of 4.4 million tons last year but about 30% of the precious crop is regularly lost to pests and diseases.Now we don't want that，do we?

　　Demand for chocolate has been increasing faster than the world supply of cocoa and researchers think that new varieties are key to solving this problem.

　　The University of Reading has been protecting the quality of the new crop since 1985，after it took over the task from the Royal Botanical Gardens in Kew，London.And it has improved its facilities.The leader of the institution's cocoa project，Professor Paul Hadley，says，“ One of the main issues concerning cocoa improvement is the supply of reliably clean，healthy，interesting cocoa material.”

　　The cocoa centre has a collection of 400 plant varieties and their greenhouse uses a lot of energy to keep them in tropical conditions.After up to two years in quarantine，clean and safe seeds are sent to some 20 countries，including several in West Africa.That's where 75% of the cocoa used for chocolate worldwide comes from.The crop is extremely important for the local economy：it employs about two million people.

　　Professor Paul Hadley says he works with a small team of skilled technicians who look after the collection.And more of us seem to count on them now.

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