Due to the unexpected early and heavy showers during February and March 2008 in most of the coffee growing areas, there was a considerable delay in harvesting of robusta coffee and quite a good proportion of the ripe infested fruits had fallen. The delay in harvest resulted in more generations of the coffee berry borer multiplying in the field. The availability of the fruits on the field for a longer period permitted the borers to continue breeding and spread to more areas.

The untimely rains, coupled with non availability of sufficient work force prevented thorough collection of gleanings and left-over fruits on the plants. This resulted in higher berry borer population in terms of increased incidence in the crop that was harvested during 2008-09. In many areas the incidence in the harvested crop has been so high that the traders have refused the lots. This has created a panic like situation, especially in new areas of berry borer incidence.

Because the left over fruits, gleanings and off-season fruits are the inoculum carriers for the next season’s crop, all measures should be taken to reduce their presence in the fields. This is the key issue which every grower has to concentrate on without fail.

There is a feeling that if traps are installed all problems with regard to the berry borer are solved. This is not the case as the installation of traps is only one of the measures and not the most important intervention.

If meticulous care is not taken to remove the leftover fruits and gleanings as well as the off season berries and tree coffee, it can aggravate the berry borer infestation on the next season’s crop and cause heavy damage. If picking of gleanings and left over fruits is difficult, the left over fruits can be knocked down and all the debris can be buried in the soil along with the fruits so that the berry borer is prevented from breeding and taking shelter in coffee fruits. The off season fruits, if any, should also be removed from the field.

The various phyto-sanitary and control measures that each grower should take up in the ensuing period is as follows.

May 2009

Removal of left over and off season fruits

Each left over fruit can carry about 100 berry borer beetles on an average. The berry borer can wait in the left over fruits for nearly five months, even without anything to feed on, and attack the developing crop during the post monsoon period as well as the developed off season berries. The berry borer would be already breeding in the off season fruits as the endosperm would be hard enough.

• Concentrate on removing the left over fruits and off season fruits.
• The left over fruits and off season fruits should be destroyed by burying in the soil to a depth of one foot or by burning. While burning, ensure that all the fruits thus collected are burnt.
• Installation of berry borer traps does not guarantee control but gives an indication about the level of berry borer activity in the field. In case trapping is more, then it indicates that left over fruits and gleanings are still present and they need to be removed and destroyed.

Installation and maintenance of traps

Installing traps alone is not the solution to manage the berry borer. Phyto-sanitary measures are more important.

• Traps can be installed at the rate of 10 per acre in blocks where the incidence was high, up to last week of May
• The traps installed should be serviced every four or five days to throw out the dead beetles and to check for water level in the bottom half of the trap and also the availability of lure material in the vial.
• Installing traps alone is not enough as the borers inside the left over fruits will not be attracted and residual population in the left over fruits and off season fruits can still cause problems during August –September months. Hence, the maximum possible population should be removed and destroyed either by burying or by burning.
• Check the field periodically for off season berries and see if any infested berries still exist and destroy them immediately.

June 2009

Removal of left over and off season fruits

• Removal of left over fruits and off season fruits can be continued even during the monsoon months

• The traps should be serviced every four or five days to throw out the dead beetles and to check for water level in the bottom half of the trap and also the availability of lure material till the onset of monsoon.
• Once the monsoon starts, no more lure material should be filled in the vials kept in the traps as the trapping of beetles during the monsoon is very poor.

Insecticide spray

• Growers who have forced blossom by irrigation during end of January or early February need to be more cautious as the fruits would have developed sufficiently to be attacked by the berry borer. Such of the growers may necessarily have to take up a round of spray with an insecticide viz. Chlorpyriphos 20EC at the dosage of 600 ml in 200 litres of water plus 200 ml of any wetting agent like vettoplant, sandovit, or indtron before the onset of monsoon to reduce the inoculum. While spraying, the spray solution should be directed towards the fruit bunches as the solution should fall on the berry borers waiting at the tip of the fruit to get maximum effect from the spray.

Use of Beauveria bassiana

• Any grower interested in producing Beauveria bassiana may contact the nearest Liaison office or Coffee Research Station for training and also to collect the starter culture.

July 2009

Removal of left over and off season fruits

• Removal of left over fruits and off season fruits should be continued even during the monsoon months since some fruits would still be remaining on the plants

Use of Beauveria bassiana

• Growers interested in producing Beauveria bassiana may contact the nearest Coffee Research Station or the local field officers for training.

August 2009

Infestation in the current year crop

• This is the period when the berry borers come out from the left over fruits and start infesting the current year’s crop. Hence, periodical inspection of the plots should be done during this month to observe the fruit bunches for activity of the berry borer.
• If the berry (endosperm) is not hard, the berry borer adult will wait at the tip of the fruit with slight superficial damage without boring into the endosperm or the bean

Insecticide spray

• This is the period when new infestation is seen, especially on the arabica fruits
• Randomly check 50 plants in an acre of arabica and 25 plants in an acre of robusta plot for infestation by the berry borer. If fifty per cent of the checked plants are infested, a decision to spray the plot with an insecticide or B. bassiana can be taken up.
• Chlorpyriphos 20EC at the dosage of 600 ml in 200 litres of water 200 litres of water plus 200 ml of any wetting agent like sandovit, wettoplant or indtron) can be sprayed
• If sprayed when most of the berry borers are waiting at the tip of the fruit, the control achieved will be more than 80%. This can be taken up during the break in the monsoon.
• While spraying, the spray solution should be directed towards the fruit bunches as the solution should fall on the berry borers waiting at the tip of the fruit to get maximum effect from the spray

Beauveria bassiana spray

• This is the right time to take up spray with the fungal preparation if the grower is producing by himself. This period is ideal as the weather conditions for fungal growth are conducive.

September 2009

Infestation in the current year crop

• Depending on the quantum of monsoon rains, early part of this month is also ideal for the borers to infest the developing crop particularly in the case of robusta coffee

Insecticide spray

• Field infestation should be monitored so that an insecticide spray can be given during this period, particularly in the case of robusta
• After this period any insecticide spray will not be useful as the degree of suppression achieved is low. This is because most of the borers would have started new colonies as the endosperm would be hard enough to be tunneled by the borer and they would be inside the fruits

• Growers producing B. bassiana can take up spray of this fungus during this time as the conditions of temperature and humidity would be ideal

Harvesting

• Growers should keep a watch on early ripening of arabica fruits. Such fruits may be harvested early and dipped in boiling water for 2 minutes if infested and then dried. Dipping in boiling water for 2 minutes would kill all the borers present in the fruits

Traps

• Traps installed in the field should be loaded with the lure material during this month
• Fresh traps may also be installed in the field during this month
• The trapping of beetles during this month would not be as high as during the summer period
• But the catch would be enough to significantly reduce the damage in the developing crop
• Service the traps at regular intervals to check the level of water, lure material and to destroy the beetles that are trapped
• Traps will be available at all the coffee research stations and with the local extension officers.

October 2009

• No insecticide spray should be taken up as most of the borers would be breeding and the colony would be deep inside the endosperm and so the spray would not be efficient
• Harvest the ripe fruits, and if infested dip in boiling water for 2 minutes and then dry

• Fresh traps may also be installed in the field during this month
• The trapping of beetles during this month would not be as high as during the summer period
• But the catch would be enough to significantly reduce the damage in the developing crop
• Service the traps at regular intervals to check the level of water, lure material and to destroy the beetles that are trapped

November 2009

Harvesting

• In the case of arabica, some varieties which show early ripening may be harvested without delay as the berry borers prefer to breed in ripe fruits
• A conscious decision should be taken regarding the quantum of preparation of washed or cherry coffee depending on the level of berry borer infestation. Growers preparing arabica cherry coffee should not delay harvest as delay in harvest results in higher incidence and damage to the bean.

Use picking mats while harvesting

Use of picking mats can reduce gleanings by 80 %, reduce infestation in the next season’s crop by 70%, increase picking efficiency by 40% and reduce manpower requirement for gleanings collection by more than 40%. While harvesting, use picking mats to reduce gleanings.

• Two rows of coffee plants around the drying yards should not be harvested so that the berry borer adults escaping from the drying coffee on the drying yards can settle on the fruits available on these plants. Otherwise the borers will travel further into the coffee plots deep inside the plot. Remove all the ripe fruits from time to time and leave some green berries on these two rows. The plants around or near the vicinity of drying yards should be harvested at the end of the harvesting season.

Installation of traps

• During this time, traps should be installed around the drying yards to trap the escaping beetles
• The traps have to be monitored every four or five days to check the level of the water, extent of trapping and also to remove the dead beetles
• Fresh traps may also be installed in the robusta fields during this month
• The trapping of beetles during this month would not be as high as during the summer period
• But the catch would be enough to significantly reduce the damage in the developing crop
• Service the traps at regular intervals to check the level of water, lure material and to destroy the beetles that are trapped

• Dry coffee to the specified moisture level of 10.5 to 11%. At this moisture level the berry borer can not survive in the parchment or cherry and it can be safely stored. If this moisture level is not maintained, the berry borer can continue to survive and breed even in the godowns.

December 2009

• Growers preparing arabica cherry coffee should not delay harvest as delay in harvest results in higher incidence and more damage to the bean
• Use picking mats to reduce gleanings.
• Two rows of coffee plants around the drying yards should not be harvested so that the berry borer adults escaping from the drying coffee on the drying yards can settle on the fruits available on these plants. Otherwise the borers will travel further into the coffee plots. Remove all the ripe fruits from time to time and leave some green berries on these two rows. The plants around or near the vicinity of drying yards should be harvested at the end of the harvesting season.
• Do a clean harvest, minimizing the number of left over fruits on the plant
• During this time, traps should be installed around the drying yards to trap the escaping beetles
• The traps have to be monitored every four or five days to check the level of the water and lure and also to remove the dead beetles
• Dry coffee to the specified moisture level of 10.5 to 11%

January 2010 to March 2010

• Arabica coffee growers should start collection of gleanings and left over fruits. They should be dried separately and not mixed with other cherry coffee lots on the drying yard as the borers may try to bore into uninfested fruits
• Growers preparing robusta cherry coffee should not delay harvest as delay in harvest results in higher incidence and more damage to the bean. This is because the rate of multiplication is higher closer to the end of the harvest period
• While harvesting, use picking mats to reduce gleanings.
• Two rows of coffee plants around the drying yards should not be harvested so that the berry borer adults escaping from the drying coffee on the drying yards can settle on the fruits available on these plants. Otherwise the borers will travel further into the coffee plots. Remove all the ripe fruits from time to time and leave some green berries on these two rows. The plants around or near the vicinity of drying yards should be harvested at the end of the harvesting season.
• Robusta coffee growers should install traps around the drying yards to trap the escaping beetles from drying coffee
• The traps have to be monitored every four or five days to check the level of the water and lure and also to remove the dead beetles
• Dry coffee to the specified moisture level of 10.5 to 11%
• Start collection of gleanings and left over fruits

April to May 2010

• Collect gleanings and left over fruits from robusta fields
• If the borer infestation on the gleanings and left over fruits is high but only partial damage to the bean has occurred, they may be dipped in boiling water for 2 minutes and then dried. Treatment with boiling water will kill all the borer stages inside the fruits
• If the infestation is high and almost all the bean has been damaged, such fruits may be buried in the soil to a depth of one foot or completely burnt
• Install traps in the field to trap beetles escaping from the gleanings which have not been collected