{"id":13938,"date":"2013-02-12T09:16:55","date_gmt":"2013-02-12T19:16:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=13938"},"modified":"2020-12-08T11:30:18","modified_gmt":"2020-12-08T21:30:18","slug":"summit-aims-to-fight-serious-coffee-pest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2013\/02\/12\/summit-aims-to-fight-serious-coffee-pest\/","title":{"rendered":"Summit aims to fight serious coffee pest"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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Coffee berry borer (Hypothenemus hampei<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at Mānoa’s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources<\/a> is mobilizing community support to fight against the coffee berry borer, the worst production risk faced by coffee growers in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> today.<\/p>\n

Coffee berry borer infestation<\/h2>\n

The coffee berry borer was first discovered in South Kona in August 2010 and has since spread rapidly. At present all of Kona is considered infested, and the pest has also been found in the neighboring Kaʻū<\/span> coffee growing areas.<\/p>\n

As with many other invasive species, it may be only a matter of time before all Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> coffee-growing regions become infested by this beetle. Some growers have reported near 100 percent losses due to coffee berry borer, and the industry will not survive if this pest cannot be controlled.<\/p>\n

Fighting the coffee berry borer<\/h2>\n

This past January, 24 agricultural professionals met for a two-day Ag Professionals Coffee Berry Borer Summit: CBB<\/abbr> Integrated Pest Management Methods and Protocols for Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>. The event was organized by Andrea Kawabata<\/strong> and Stuart T. Nakamoto<\/strong> of CTAHR<\/abbr>’s Risk Management Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> and Local and Immigrant Farmer Training<\/a> programs.<\/p>\n

The goal of the summit was for scientists and the industry to establish an agreed-upon and updated protocol to help reduce growers’ confusion about more efficiently combating coffee berry borer in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>. The standard protocol for growers to manage coffee berry borer emphasizes field sanitation, sampling and monitoring, timely harvesting, effective processing, strict quarantine procedures, and spraying of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Department of Agriculture approved fungal biocontrol Beauveria bassiana products.<\/p>\n

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