Moniliophthora roreri is a basidiomycete fungus that causes frosty pod rot disease, one of the most serious problems for cacao (Theobroma cacao— the source of chocolate) production in Latin America.

[4] More recently, it was shown that M. roreri and the causal agent of witches’ broom of cacao, M. perniciosa, are sister species within the mushroom family Marasmiaceae.

Then they germinate and penetrate the pod directly through the epidermis,[9] causing internal damage in the early stages of the disease.

However, during the last 50 years, the disease has spread southward into Peru (in 1988), and northward into all cacao-growing areas of Central America (Costa Rica, 1978; Nicaragua, 1979; Honduras, 1997; Guatemala, 2002; Belize, 2004 and Mexico, 2005),[12][13] in many cases resulting in abandonment of the entire plantation by farmers.

[14] This invasive behavior of the disease represents a threat to cacao growers from Brazil and also to areas outside of Latin America where the majority of the world cocoa is currently produced.

[12][15] In Colombia, specifically in the Santander region, average annual losses are of 40% of dry cacao equivalent to US$33 million due to the disease.