LIHU‘E — The state Department of Agriculture and University of Hawai‘i personnel will update Kaua‘i residents on the status of coffee berry borer and coffee leaf rust during an online “mini-conference” on Wednesday, Oct. 13, from 10 a.m. to noon.
LIHU‘E — The state Department of Agriculture and University of Hawai‘i personnel will update Kaua‘i residents on the status of coffee berry borer and coffee leaf rust during an online “mini-conference” on Wednesday, Oct. 13, from 10 a.m. to noon.
Berry borers (Hypothenemus hampei) are beetles, and rust (Hemileia vastatrix) is a fungus. Both are threats to the state’s coffee-growing operations.
The conference is free via Zoom. The tentative agenda’s topics include identification and biology; a status report and discussion of the pests’ island-wide distribution; and integrated pest management. A question-and-answer period will follow.
The CBB was first reported in the state 10 years ago, but was not seen on Kaua‘i until September 2020. CLR is a more-recent and transmissible threat. It was discovered in a Kilauea coffee orchard July 2021 after sweeping through the other major Hawaiian islands.
Attendees can register online at https://bit.ly/3C7MAZd. The registration window closes at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 12.
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Scott Yunker, general assignment reporter, can be reached at 245-0437 or syunker@thegardenisland.com.
