High-tech laboratory for coffee

THE Coffee Industry Corporation has developed a high-tech laboratory to identify the coffee berry borer by using DNA,
The corporation’s acting chief scientist and principal entomologist officer Dr Nelson Simbiken said it was something the country should be proud of.
The laboratory was completed with the support of the Government, CIC, and the University of Florida in the United States.
It processed its first specimens last week.
“The completion of this lab means that PNG is becoming a world leader in the coffee industry,” he said.
“The lab is dedicated to the rapid identification of the coffee berry borer, but the lab has great potential for other diverse projects in the future.”
The corporation will use the new DNA analysis tools to improve coffee breeding techniques, increase coffee productivity and identify pests.
It said it was committed to keeping PNG free of the coffee berry borer. It hops that the beetle will not show up in PNG.