Abundance of Coffee Berry Borer in feral, abandoned, and managed coffee on Hawaii Island

Authors: JOHNSON, MELISSA - Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Manoukis, Nicholas

Submitted to: Journal of Applied Entomology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/4/2020
Publication Date: 7/4/2020
Citation: Johnson, M., Manoukis, N. 2020. Abundance of Coffee Berry Borer in feral, abandoned, and managed coffee on Hawaii Island. Journal of Applied Entomology. 144(10):920-928. https://doi.org/10.1111/jen.12804.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jen.12804

Interpretive Summary: Coffee Berry Borer (CBB) is the most serious insect pest of coffee globally. One important question affecting its management since it was found in Hawaii in 2010 is which sorts of fields have the most CBB: managed fields, poorly or unmanaged fields, abandoned fields, or coffee plants growing outside of coffee farms (feral). In this study we monitored these types of farms over two years (2016 and 2017) on Hawaii island and found that poorly managed fields (mowing only) are the most productive in terms of CBB. Therefore, efforts to prevent movement of this pest between fields should focus on these types of fields rather than completely abandoned fields or feral coffee plants.

Technical Abstract: Coffee berry borer (Hypothenemus hampei Ferrari), the most damaging insect pest of coffee worldwide, was first detected on Hawaii Island in 2010. Poorly managed, abandoned and feral coffee sites on the island have since been thought to harbor coffee berry borer (CBB) populations, which then negatively impact neighboring coffee farms. In the present study we sought to quantify CBB abundance in these sites, which vary in management intensity and vegetation structure and diversity. We collected data on trap catch as a measure of CBB flight activity, fruit production, and fruit infestation by CBB in eight well-managed farms and sites that were either poorly managed, abandoned or feral (wild) coffee. Sites were sampled bi-weekly over a period of two years from 2016–2017. We found that CBB flight activity was significantly higher in poorly managed sites relative to abandoned and feral sites, but was not significantly different from well-managed sites. Coffee production in well-managed farms was significantly higher than in abandoned and feral sites, but was not significantly different from poorly managed farms. CBB infestation in poorly managed sites was significantly higher than that observed in well-managed, abandoned and feral sites. We estimated an average load of 11–25 CBB per branch at poorly managed sites, compared to 3–9 per branch at well-managed sites, 1–16 per branch at abandoned sites and 1–3 per branch at feral sites. Our findings suggest that poorly managed sites should be prioritized for implementation of CBB control measures as part of a landscape-level IPM program.