Controlling the dreaded coffee borer

The National Weekender

By CORA MOABI
SINCE the detection of coffee berry borer (CBB) in the heart of Jiwaka almost three months ago, the PNG Coffee Industry Corporation (CIC) has taken immediate measures to address the incursion.
To date, conducting awareness in coffee-growing provinces is ongoing, including a delimiting survey.
Awareness activities and the delimiting survey have gone as far as Hela and Southern Highlands, Enga, Western Highlands, Jiwaka, Simbu, Eastern Highlands, Morobe and will continue on to Madang.
A team of field and technical staff from CIC, Department of Agriculture and Livestock (DAL) and National Agriculture Quarantine & Inspection Authority (NAQIA) have been carrying out delimiting surveys and awareness since March.
CIC Chief Executive Charles Dambui explained that efforts are being made to help the industry identify the pest and immediately report suspected CBB cases to the authorities. He added that this is an ongoing exercise as part of its containment plan.
“Our team of dedicated extension officers, scientists and coffee inspectors are out in infested-coffee communities since the detection of the pest.”
Dambui stressed that it is important people cooperate with teams currently stationed in the affected areas to implement the containment plan.
He said that the teams are well into its control measures which included road blocks at two different locations – Lufa/Okapa junction in Eastern Highlands, Koronigl bridge in Simbu and Kondopina.
He emphasised that CBB can be spread to new locations through infected cherry and parchments with moisture level above 12 percent.
Dambui added that the roadblock at Koronigl in Kerowaghi had unfortunately been temporary lifted due to political events that have placed the lives of CIC officers at risk.
“In the meantime, exporters and processors are urged to inform CIC inspection section four days prior to moving their coffees in containers. This is to allow ample time to carry out necessary checks, including fumigation, and ensure CBB is not carried into other free areas,” he added.
“Our concern is that CBB could have a serious impact by reducing coffee production by almost 50 percent if not controlled; with rising costs for CBB control to go up as high as US$199 (K498) per hectare.”
Therefore, we are encouraging farmers to exercise sanitation practices in terms of keeping their coffee gardens clean.
PNG has between 70 related species, which makes it a challenging task for officers to correctly identify CBB before lab diagnostics.
“We are grateful to partners at the University of Florida in the United States for providing training to our officers on CBB identification, and setting up the DNA lab in Aiyura, Eastern Highlands. This has enabled them to correctly carry out necessary steps in the rapid identification in its initial detection.”
Meanwhile, Farmer Training and Extension Manager Matei Labun is leading his team of extension personnel to continue with awareness and rehabilitation exercises in Jiwaka and Eastern Highlands.
Two teams have been sent out to work in the North Waghi and Anglimp/South Waghi areas since February. Officers are continuously rotated to ensure that the work continues on the ground.
In addition to that, eight service providers in Jiwaka have been engaged to work alongside CIC officers. Labun said that the team was already carrying out containment exercises and also looking at possibly eradicating CBB in isolated coffee gardens.
“We are knocking down weeds in infected coffee gardens with the use of herbicides, demonstrating and carrying out cherry stripping of infected beans, pruning and increasing the number of CBB traps.”
He said that so far, infected gardens have been reduced down to eight from the initial 14 in Jiwaka.
Labun said some people have been misinforming farmers and causing them to think the pest was already widespread. He said it was concentrated in an isolated area and farmers should not panic.
The containment exercise for Eastern Highlands started last month. Another team is in Morobe conducting delimiting surveys and carrying out general awareness to coffee communities there.
For more information, please contact the PNG Coffee Industry Research and Growers Services Division on 537 3511, Hotline 79455701, Industry Regulations 532 2466, Hotline 73716261, or Farmer training and Extension Hotline 79455714.

  • Cora Moabi  is Media Liaison Officer with CIC.