Hawaii: Deadly Beetle infestation eating its way through iconic Kona coffee crop
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Pastor Dale Morgan
Mar 2, 2011, 6:04:59 AM3/2/11
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Plagues,
Pestilences and Diseases
Hawaii: Deadly Beetle infestation eating its way through iconic Kona coffee crop
By Karin Stanton, The Associated Press | The Canadian Press
* In this photo taken Wednesday Feb. 23, 2011, Kona coffee farmer Tommy Greenwell checks a trap hanging from a coffee tree on his farm in Captain Cook, Hawaii. A beetle smaller than a sesame seed is boring its way into Kona coffee beans and threatening the nation’s only coffee growing region’s premiere crop. Greenwall said about 25 percent of farms in the Kona region are infected and that farmers have lost roughly 2 percent of the crop this year. (AP Photo/Karin Stanton)Enlarge
KAILUA-KONA, Hawaii - A beetle smaller than a sesame seed is boring its way into Kona coffee beans and threatening the premier crop of the only coffee-growing region in the United States.
More than 600 farmers in North Kona and South Kona, on the west side of Hawaii's Big Island, are preparing to coat their fields with a suffocating fungus and are taking other measures to save their livelihoods and protect the world famous Kona coffee brand. While they're confident they can limit the damage, they acknowledge they face a long fight against a beetle that will almost certainly reduce harvests and force costly chemical treatments and other work.
"It definitely has made growing Kona coffee more challenging," said Tommy Greenwell, owner of Greenwell Farms. "Once the beetle bores into the coffee cherry, it digs out a home and lays its eggs. That bean is no longer useable in coffee products. "
The beetle, a bug known as Hypothenemus hampei that is native to Africa, was formally identified in Hawaii in September, but farmers have reported spotting it for two years. No one knows how it arrived in Hawaii, but growers said they're not especially surprised because it's seen in other coffee-growing regions throughout the world.
"There are 101 theories about how it got here. All we know is it got here from another country and it's a very, very good hitchhiker," Greenwell said. "How could we really know? It's not important."
What's vital is how to fight the bug, which if not handled effectively could devastate one of Hawaii's top exports.
According to that National Agricultural Statistics Service, farmers in Hawaii last year grew 7.9 million pounds (3.6 million kilograms) of coffee, a drop of 800,000 pounds (363,000 kilograms) from the year before and down from nearly 10 million pounds (4.5 million kilograms) in 2000. That figure includes coffee grown in other Big Island districts, as well as on the islands of Kauai and Maui. Only beans grown in North and South Kona can be sold as Kona Coffee.
Greenwall said about 25 per cent of farms in the Kona region are infected and farmers have lost roughly 2 per cent of the crop this year.
A key advantage for Hawaii farmers is that growers elsewhere in the world have plenty of experience with the beetle and chemicals are available to aid in the fight.
The state Board of Agriculture last week approved importing two pesticides that contain fungal spores that kill the beetle. The fungus occurs naturally in Hawaii soil but must be sprayed in greater volume to smother the beetles and prevent them from boring into individual beans.
Board of Agriculture Chairman Russell Kokubun said the state needed to take action to protect the industry.
"Coffee is a very important commodity and great resource for the state. It's an export product so it brings in new revenue and it helps brand the Hawaii name," he said. "There was no real question that we needed to do something quickly."
___
Online:
Greenwell Farms: http://www.greenwellfarms.com
Kona Cafe: http://www.konacafe.com
Hawaii Department of Agriculture: http://hawaii.gov/hdoa/pi/ppc/coffee-berry-borer-folder
Hawaii: Deadly Beetle infestation eating its way through iconic Kona coffee crop
By Karin Stanton, The Associated Press | The Canadian Press
* In this photo taken Wednesday Feb. 23, 2011, Kona coffee farmer Tommy Greenwell checks a trap hanging from a coffee tree on his farm in Captain Cook, Hawaii. A beetle smaller than a sesame seed is boring its way into Kona coffee beans and threatening the nation’s only coffee growing region’s premiere crop. Greenwall said about 25 percent of farms in the Kona region are infected and that farmers have lost roughly 2 percent of the crop this year. (AP Photo/Karin Stanton)Enlarge
KAILUA-KONA, Hawaii - A beetle smaller than a sesame seed is boring its way into Kona coffee beans and threatening the premier crop of the only coffee-growing region in the United States.
More than 600 farmers in North Kona and South Kona, on the west side of Hawaii's Big Island, are preparing to coat their fields with a suffocating fungus and are taking other measures to save their livelihoods and protect the world famous Kona coffee brand. While they're confident they can limit the damage, they acknowledge they face a long fight against a beetle that will almost certainly reduce harvests and force costly chemical treatments and other work.
"It definitely has made growing Kona coffee more challenging," said Tommy Greenwell, owner of Greenwell Farms. "Once the beetle bores into the coffee cherry, it digs out a home and lays its eggs. That bean is no longer useable in coffee products. "
The beetle, a bug known as Hypothenemus hampei that is native to Africa, was formally identified in Hawaii in September, but farmers have reported spotting it for two years. No one knows how it arrived in Hawaii, but growers said they're not especially surprised because it's seen in other coffee-growing regions throughout the world.
"There are 101 theories about how it got here. All we know is it got here from another country and it's a very, very good hitchhiker," Greenwell said. "How could we really know? It's not important."
What's vital is how to fight the bug, which if not handled effectively could devastate one of Hawaii's top exports.
According to that National Agricultural Statistics Service, farmers in Hawaii last year grew 7.9 million pounds (3.6 million kilograms) of coffee, a drop of 800,000 pounds (363,000 kilograms) from the year before and down from nearly 10 million pounds (4.5 million kilograms) in 2000. That figure includes coffee grown in other Big Island districts, as well as on the islands of Kauai and Maui. Only beans grown in North and South Kona can be sold as Kona Coffee.
Greenwall said about 25 per cent of farms in the Kona region are infected and farmers have lost roughly 2 per cent of the crop this year.
A key advantage for Hawaii farmers is that growers elsewhere in the world have plenty of experience with the beetle and chemicals are available to aid in the fight.
The state Board of Agriculture last week approved importing two pesticides that contain fungal spores that kill the beetle. The fungus occurs naturally in Hawaii soil but must be sprayed in greater volume to smother the beetles and prevent them from boring into individual beans.
Board of Agriculture Chairman Russell Kokubun said the state needed to take action to protect the industry.
"Coffee is a very important commodity and great resource for the state. It's an export product so it brings in new revenue and it helps brand the Hawaii name," he said. "There was no real question that we needed to do something quickly."
___
Online:
Greenwell Farms: http://www.greenwellfarms.com
Kona Cafe: http://www.konacafe.com
Hawaii Department of Agriculture: http://hawaii.gov/hdoa/pi/ppc/coffee-berry-borer-folder
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