Recipient Organization
UNIV OF HAWAII
3190 MAILE WAY
HONOLULU,HI 96822
Performing Department
Plant & Environmental Protection Sciences
Non Technical Summary
Coffee berry borer (= CBB) is the most serious pest of coffee worldwide. CBB invaded the Big Island of Hawaii in 2010, where it poses major challenges to the economic well being of the coffee industry. The beetle has not yet reached any other Hawaiian island. Kauai coffee, with 3,000 acres of contiguous planting and a thriving agro-tourism center, is especially vulnerable.We propose a four-part plan to help prevent, detect, delimit, and respond to any CBB invasion of Kauai (and other non-infested islands). Prevention will focus on public education to reduce risk of accidental inter-island transport of coffee berries. Detection will combine trapping and berry sampling on a weekly basis to provide early warning of incipient CBB incursion. We'll work alongside with, and train coffee workers in trap and sample processing and beetle identification. If an incursion occurs, we'll immediately respond with an action plan that focuses on, first, delimitation of the extent of the infestation. This will rely on a surge of manpower and resources, following a well-developed action plan that will be practiced in advance by a SWAT team (which we will recruit and train). Finally, if delimitation indicates an infestation limited in size and distribution, we will implement a local eradication response strategy using a combination of stump pruning, sanitation, insecticides, and follow-up sampling.This four part strategy will entail considerable advance planning, public engagement, inter-agency networking, and data gathering. It can serve as a model for other exotic pest species in Hawaii that threaten inter-island invasions.
Animal Health Component
100%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
100%
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
Our overall goal is to reduce vulnerability and mitigate risk of coffee berry borer invasion of islands that are currently CBB-free. The framework we establish will be applicable to other exotic pest invasions as well. Components include A. Prevention; B. Detection; C. Delimitation; D. Eradication.
Project Methods
A. Prevention: With input from the Kauai Invasive Species Committee, we will design, print, and distribute informational posters that are eye-catching, succinct, informative, and persuasive as a means of educating tourists and other travellers about the dangers of transporting coffee berries inter-island. Posters will be displayed in locations on the Big Island (especially, but not limited to, the Kona region), that have high rates of agro-tourism visits (coffee plantations, coffee retail shops, etc.). We will also mount displays at airports and possibly cruise ship harbors. In addition we will submit short articles and notices for tourist magazines.B. Detection: Previous work (Messing 2012) has documented the best and most cost-effective coffee berry borer trap design that can be used as a monitoring device. Trapping is an essential component of CBB detection; however, trapping has 3 major shortcomings: (1) we do not know the "pulling power" of current trap lures, thus a positive CBB find in a trap does not give us an accurate focal starting point for delimiting any infestation; (2) beetles captured in a trap are difficult to see and impossible to identify without having a high quality, expensive microscope; (3) sorting the numerous beetles that are captured in traps and identifying the distinguishing characteristics of CBB from other related beetles (tropical nut borer, black twig borer, etc.) is quite difficult for the non-specialist. For these reasons we will develop sampling plans to supplement trapping with more extensive in-field berry sampling. The plans for both trappping and berry sampling will focus on locations that are most frequently traversed by tourists and farm workers within each farm. Berries infested by CBB have highly distinctive and diagnostic entry holes in the blossom end, these can be seen with the naked eye and can be inspected directly in the field. Any positive or suspicious find will generate more extensive sampling on the same and adjacent plants, with all suspect berries taken immediately to the lab for dissection and microscopic determination of beetle presence. Traps will be serviced weekly and all collected beetles will be brought to the Kauai Agricultural Research Center entomology lab for identification. Any beetle that keys out to Hypothenemus hampei will prompt immediate contact with Bernarr Kumashiro (State DOA taxonomist); samples will then be FEDEXed or hand-carried to Oahu the same day for confirmation. An important component of detection is farm-employee education; we will provide repeated training sessions to all field and mill workers in the identification of infested berries, and identification of CBB adults using dead CBB specimens and frozen infested berries, photographs, and flash cards. Eventually our goal is to transition all detection efforts to farm employees, so that the monitoring program is sustainable in the event of decreased state and federal funding.C. Delimitation. Any positive identification of a coffee berry borer during the detection phase will immediately trigger a plan to delineate the boundaries of the infestation. We will recruit and train a SWAT team (UH personnel, farm workers, and HISC personnel) as first responders to come in and intensify the berry sampling and trapping in the coffee blocks surrounding ground zero. Multiple field transects radiating from the flash point will guide workers to examine 10 berries per tree, from one tree every 10 m in a row, to a distance of at least 300 m (or 300 m beyond any positive find). This will provide distance and direction data for boundary demarcation.D. Local Eradication. In consultation with coffee farm management we will carefully examine the delimitation data and make a determination as to the feasibility of locally eradicating CBB from the infested farm. Data considered will include the geographic area infested, the beetle's population density, recent history of farm operations in and through the infested area, infestation contiguity, phenology and status of the crop (standing or already harvested), and estimates of labor requirements, costs, and the nature of regulatory obstacles (if any). Much advance planning and legwork will be necessary to identify and engage the appropriate regulatory and community stakeholders (i.e., Kauai County Department of Health, Clean Air Branch; Hanapepe Community Group; Waimea Community Association). Details of mitigation protocols, including pruning; sanitation; removal and transport of cuttings and berries; burning or burying of infested material; buffer size (surrounding the known infested area) and directionality (upwind, downwind) of the flash point, and type, dose and frequency of pesticide applications will be decided in advance based on our own experience, the best available scientific literature, and consultations with appropriate experts. To ensure a timely and smooth action response, we will conduct a "fire drill" during which, with advance notice to coffee farm management, we will deliberately plant a dead (positively identified) coffee berry borer adult female beetle into one of the detection traps. We'll then go through all steps of the delimitation and (mock-) mitigation protocols, in order to practice everyone's role, responsibility, and knowledge of how to proceed should a real find occur.