List of Publications:

In Refereed Journals:

1. Bekele, F.L., Bidaisee, G.G., Saravanakumar, D. (2020b) Examining phenotypic diversity and economic value of Cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) conserved at the International Cocoa Genebank, Trinidad to support improvement in cocoa yield globally. Tropical Agriculture (Trinidad) Vol. 97(2): 82-93.

2. Bekele, F.L., Bidaisee, G.G., Singh, H., Saravanakumar, D. (2020a) Morphological characterisation and evaluation of cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) in Trinidad to facilitate utilisation of Trinitario cacao globally. Journal Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution, 67(3): 621-643. doi.org/10.1007/s10722-019-00793-7

3. Ten Hoopen, G. M., Motilal, L. A., & Bekele, F. L. (2019). The role of agroforestry systems in reconciling food and cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) and coffee (Coffea spp. L.) production in a changing environment. Tropical Agriculture (Trinidad) Vol. 96 (Commemorative Issue 95 Years): 98-109.

4. Maharaj, K., Bekele, F.L., Ramnath, D., Sankar, R., Bekele, I., Bidaisee, G., Maharaj, P., Jennings, K. (2019). Selection of putative relic cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) genotypes in farmers` fields in Trinidad and Tobago. Tropical Agriculture (Trinidad) Vol. 96 (Commemorative Issue 95 Years): 1-13.

5. Gopaulchan, D., Motilal, L. A., Bekele, F. L., Clause, S., Ariko, J. O., Ejang, H. P., & Umaharan, P. (2019). Morphological and genetic diversity of cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) in Uganda. Physiology and Molecular Biology of Plants 25(2): 361-375. doi.org/10.1007/s12298-018-0632-2

6. Ramtahal, G., Chang Yen, I., Hamid, A., Bekele, I., Bekele, F., Maharaj, K., & Harrynanan, L. (2018). The Effect of Liming on the Availability of Cadmium in Soils and Its Uptake in Cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) In Trinidad & Tobago. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis 49 (19): 2456-2464. DOI: doi.org/10.1080/00103624.2018.1510955

7. Ramtahal, G., Chang–Yen, I., Bekele, I., Bekele, F., Wilson, L., Maharaj, K. & Harrynanan, L. (2016). Relationships between cadmium in tissues of cacao trees and soils in plantations of Trinidad and Tobago. Food and Nutrition Sciences 7: 37–43. doi: 10.4236/fns.2016.71005.

8. Ramtahal, G., ChangYen, I., Ahmad, N., Bekele, I., Bekele, F., Maharaj, K., ... & Harrynanan, L. (2015). Prediction of soil cadmium bioavailability to cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) using Single–Step Extraction procedures. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis 46 (20): 2585–2594.

9. Ramtahal, G., ChangYen, I., Bekele, I., Bekele, F., Wilson, L., Maharaj, K., & Sukha, B. (2015). Implications of distribution of cadmium between the nibs and testae of cocoa beans on its marketability and food safety assessment. Quality Assurance and Safety of Crops & Foods 7 (5): 731–736.

10. Badrie, N., Bekele, F.L., Sikora, E. and Sikora, M. (2015). Production and processing of cocoa and cocoa products: Quality, nutritional and health aspects. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition Volume 55 (5): 620–659.

11. Ramtahal, G., ChangYen, I. C., Bekele, I., Bekele, F., Wilson, L., Sukha, B., & Maharaj, K. (2014). Cost–effective method of analysis for the determination of Cadmium, Copper, Nickel and Zinc in cocoa beans and chocolates. Journal of Food Research 4 (1): 193–199.

12. Roberts, J., Chang–Yen, I., Bekele, F., Bekele, I. and Harrynanan, L. (2014). Determination of Ochratoxin A in cocoa beans using Immunoaffinity Column Cleanup with High Performance Liquid Chromatography. Journal of AOAC INTERNATIONAL Volume 97 (3): 884–888.

13. Bhola, J., Sreenivasan, T.N., Bekele, F.L. and Motilal, L.A (2013). Two fruits per pedicel in cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) – a rare phenotype. Plant Genetic Resources: Characterization and Utilization 12 (2): 259–262. dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1479262113000427

14. Maharaj, K.., Maharaj, P., Bekele, F.L., Ramnath, D., Bidaisee, G.G., Bekele, I., Persad, C., Jennings, K., and Sankar, R. (2011). Trinidad selected hybrids: An investigation of the phenotypic and agro–economic traits of 20 selected cacao cultivars. Tropical Agriculture (Trinidad) Volume 88 (4): 175–185.

15. Johnson, E., Bekele, F., Brown, S., Zhang, D., Meinhart, L. and Schnell, R. (2009). Population structure and genetic diversity of the Trinitario cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) from Trinidad and Tobago. Crop Science 49: 564–572.

16. Mollineau, W., Bekele, F. and G. Garcia (2008). An examination of the Neo– tropical red squirrel (Sciurus granatensis) as a pest of cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) in the International Cacao Genebank, Trinidad, Trinidad. Tropical Agriculture (Trinidad) Vol. 85 No. 2 April 2008: 149–160.

17. Bekele, F.L., Butler, D.R. and Bidaisee, G.G. (2008a). Upper Amazon Forastero cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) 1: An assessment of phenotypic relationships in the International Cocoa Genebank, Trinidad. Tropical Agriculture (Trinidad) Vol 85 No. 1 January 2008: 1–15.

18. Bekele, F.L., Iwaro, A.D., Butler, D.R. and Bidaisee, G.G. (2008b). Upper Amazon Forastero cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) 2: An overview of Parinari clones from a breeder’s perspective. Tropical Agriculture (Trinidad). Vol 85 No. 1 January 2008: 16– 33.

19. Khan, N. Motilal, L.A. Sukha, D.A., Bekele, F.L., Iwaro, A.D., Bidaisee, G.G., Umaharan, P., Grierson, L.H. and Zhang, D. (2008). Variability of butterfat content in cacao (Theobroma cacao L.): combination and correlation with other seed–derived traits at the International Cocoa Genebank, Trinidad. Plant Genetic Resources: Characterization and Utilisation Volume 6 (3): pp 175–186. Published online by Cambridge University Press 19 May 2008 doi:10.1017/S1479262108994132.

20. Bekele, F.L., Bekele I., Butler, D.R.B. and Bidaisee, G.G. (2006). Patterns of morphological variation in a sample of cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) germplasm from the International Cocoa Genebank, Trinidad. Genetic Resources & Crop Evolution (Kluwer Academic Publishers, Netherlands) Volume 53 (5) (August 2006): 933–948. (http://uwispace.sta.uwi.edu/dspace/handle/2139/13170

21. Abdul– Karimu, A., Butler, D.R., Iwaro, A.D., Sukha, D.A., Bekele, F., Mooleedhar, V. and Shripat, C. (2003). Farmers’ perceptions of cocoa planting material and factors affecting the cocoa industry in Trinidad and Tobago. Tropical Agriculture (Trinidad) Vol. 80 (October 2003): 261–266.

22. Iwaro, A. D., Bekele, F.L. and Butler, D.R. (2003). Evaluation and utilisation of cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) germplasm at the International Cocoa Genebank, Trinidad. Euphytica (Kluwer Academic Publishers, Netherlands) 130: 207–221.

23. Bekele, F. and Bekele, I. (1996). A sampling of the phenetic diversity in the International Cocoa Genebank, Trinidad. Crop Science (published by The Crop Science Society, The United States of America) 36 (1):57–64.

24. Bekele, F.L., Kennedy, A.J., Mc David, C., Lauckner, F.B., and Bekele, I. (1994). Numerical taxonomic studies on cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) in Trinidad. Euphytica (published by Kluwer Academic Publishers, Netherlands) 75: 231–240.

Book chapters

Daymond, A. Bekele, F. Cacao. In Genetic diversity, erosion conservation and utilization – Cash crops. Springer Nature. Eds Priyadarshan, M. (in press)

Bekele, F., Phillips‒Mora, W. (2019) Cocoa Breeding. In: In: Al-Khayri J., Jain S., Johnson D. (eds) Advances in Plant Breeding: Industrial and Food Crops, Vol 6. Springer, Cham. pp. 409-487. doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-23265-8_12.

Bekele, F.L and Bekele, I. (2017). Social and Environmental impacts on Agricultural Development. In: Agricultural Development and Food Security in Developing Nations. Eds Ganpat, W., Dyer, Ronald and Isaac, W. IGI Global, PA. Pages 21–56. DOI: 10.4018/978–1–5225–0942–4.ch002

Reprinted in 2020 in Environmental and Agricultural Informatics: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications pp. 1299-1334