INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT OF COFFEE BERRY BORER
FINAL REPORT - INDIA
CFC/ICO/02
Central Coffee Research Institute Coffee Research Station P.O. 577 117 Chikmagalur District Karnataka INDIA
With contributions from:
CABI Commodities United Kingdom
Cenicafé Colombia
and
Jeff Bentley Bolivia CREDITS
EDITORIAL COORDINATION Héctor Fabio Ospina O.
DESIGN AND LAYOUT Carmenza Bacca Ramírez
PRINTED BY FERIVA S.A. Cali, Colombia May 2002
The Commodities Press1
1A joint CABI Commodities-Cenicafé enterprise CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION 1
2. COFFEE IN INDIA 6 The Indian economy and coffee Coffee production Coffee zones and growing Coffee farmers Coffee production costs
3. THE CBB IN INDIA 8 Incidence and spread Coffee phenology and CBB attack 8. SOCIOECONOMIC 29 STUDIES ON THE 4. TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER 10 ADOPTION OF IPM AND RESEARCH Methodology Overview of previous work in Extent of adoption of man- India agement interventions Research of the present Projet Constraints in CBB managment technology 5. TESTING, VALIDATION adoption AND INTEGRATION OF 13 Awareness about CBB con- cepts 29 COMPONENTS 9. CONCLUSIONS 29 6. THE ECONOMICS OF CBB Losses due to CBB 16 REFERENCES AND Cost of CBB management PUBLICATIONS 29 7. IPM INFORMATION APPENDICES DISSEMINATION 29 Appendix 1: Coffee Board Farmer participatory method of India infrastucture Farmer-researcher extensionist meetings Appendix 2: Overseas vis- Impact of the FPM programme its to attend meetings, train- Women empowerment ing and conferences on CBB programme Summary of extension activi- Appendix 3: Visits of con- ties sultants to India under the Group gatherings at IPM plots CFC-ICO project Conclusions Appendix 4: Earlier Indian studies on CBB ecology and cultural control
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ince 1990 the Coffee Board of India 1995 for a period of three years. All the ex- (CBI) has initiated various research isting programmes on CBB were integrated Sand extension programmes to combat into this new project and new research and the pest problem of the coffee berry borer extension programmes were also started. (CBB) (Hypothenemus hampei, Coleoptera, This resulted in the emergence of a pack- Scolytidae). As additional financial support age of practices for the management of the was required to carry out the new pest, and the creation of awareness among programmes, the Ministry of Commerce, growers on the importance of taking up Government of India, was approached for timely measures for tackling the pest. The specific projects under the CBI’s Plan. Thus project was continued as an ongoing the first project cleared by the Ministry was programme during the IX Plan Period (1997- a scheme to provide pesticide and plant pro- 98 to 2001-02). tection equipment to the smallholder grow- ers, which was launched during November As the CBB is a serious pest problem in most 1991. Under this project, pesticide and of the leading coffee growing countries in sprayers were supplied to smallholder grow- the world, and the fact that much progress ers at subsidized rates. had been achieved in research in biocontrol of CBB in Colombia and Mexico, the Coffee In order to intensify the studies on devel- Board approached the International Coffee oping an integrated management package Organisation (ICO) to initiate an interna- for coffee berry borer with more focus on tional project on the pest. biological measures, another project, the Biological Control of Berry Borer, was initi- The ICO took an initiative in this direction, ated during May 1993. Studies were con- and during November 1995 a consultant, Dr. ducted on the possibilities of using J. A. Nicholas Wallis was sent to India to biocontrol agents in the management of prepare a draft proposal for an international berry borer and studies were initiated on project. CABI Bioscience was identified as the the indigenous fungal pathogen, Beauveria Project Executing Agency (PEA) for imple- bassiana. Simultaneously, attempts were mentation of the project, and the Common also initiated to import some exotic parasi- Fund for Commodities (CFC) agreed to pro- toids of the borer as there was no parasi- vide funds. The details of the project were toid recorded from India. Two parasitoids, worked out in a meeting of the participat- Cephalonomia stephanoderis and Prorops ing countries (India, Colombia, Mexico, Ec- nasuta were introduced from Mexico dur- uador, Guatemala, Honduras and Jamaica) ing September 1995, and two entomologists with CABI Bioscience and the CFC at the ICO, were trained on the mass multiplication of London during July 1996. The Project was the parasitoids at ECOSUR (El Colegio de la launched in January 1998 for a period of Frontera Sur), Tapachula, Mexico. From three years, which was later extended to De- these activities, a culture of C. cember 2001. This project provided an op- stephanoderis was established in India. portunity for research and extension person- nel to have first hand knowledge of the lat- The Scientific Advisory Committee of the est developments in CBB management Ministry of Commerce under the Chairman- worldwide. The technology of mass breed- ship of Dr. M.S. Swaminathan recom- ing CBB parasitoids developed at Cenicafé, mended, during August 1994, to consider Colombia was made available to India the CBB as a national pest and implement a through training to researchers. Addition- project that had a mission mode approach ally, two parasitoids, Phymastichus coffea to intensify the ongoing programmes in a and Prorops nasuta were imported from more effective way. Thus, the Ministry of Colombia under this project. A farmer par- Commerce sanctioned a project, the ‘Na- ticipatory approach was highlighted in the tional Mission on Control and Prevention process of technology development and of Coffee Berry Borer’, during December implementation.
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The detailed information on the various re- search and extension infrastructure, and of search and extension activities conducted the principal collaborating personnel, are under the Integrated Management of the provided in Appendix 1. A summary of the Coffee Berry Borer Project (CFC/ICO/02) are training and meetings visits made by some the subject of this report. The information of these personnel under the project is given is reported in the context of the coffee in- in Appendix 2. Finally, the visits of consult- dustry in India, and previous work con- ants to the project are summarized in Ap- ducted on the CBB by the Coffee Board. A pendix 3. summary of the structure of the Board’s re-
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THE INDIAN ECONOMY sons have been suggested including issues related to the WTO and market AND COFFEE liberalisation, climate problems and govern- ment agricultural policies. For example, in ndia’s major agricultural exports are ce- states such as Gujarat, Orissa and Rajasthan reals, spices, cashew, oilcake/meal, to the monsoons have been deficient in the last Ibacco, tea, coffee, and marine products. two years. The main consequences of this The value of agri-exports to total exports have been a fall in the output of essential of the country normally ranges between 15% oilseeds (groundnut, mustard and soybean and 20%. Coffee exports have remained are most affected). On the other hand, food above US$ 400 million during the last 5 grain growth rates have declined from 3.5% years, with the exception of 1999-2000 in the 1980s to 1.8% in the last decade, while when it was US$ 315 million. Table 1 de- in the non-food grain economy the growth scribes the composition of Indian agricul- rates have fallen from 4% in the 1980s to tural exports between 1996-1997 and 1999- 3.1% in the 1990s. Similarly, Menon (2001) 2000. points out that the fall in international prices of robusta coffee as well as pepper From Table 1, it is clear that some products has also affected coffee farmers in have been increasing their share of exports, Karnataka and Kerala states. Pepper is an for instance spices, cashew, sesame, guar important extra-income for many coffee gum meal and seafoods. Other groups have farmers, but its productivity has been low remained more or less constant, including (between 275 and 300 kg/ha), despite its tea, coffee, tobacco, fruit & vegetables, meat potential. Additionally the price has seen & meat preparations. Overall coffee has re- reductions from Rs 22,600/quintal in 1999 mained constant at about 6% of agricultural to Rs 12,000/quintal in 2000. A similar situ- exports, despite low international coffee ation has occurred with areca nuts. Prices prices during recent years. In the states fell from Rs 154/kg in September 1999 to where coffee is grown, coffee contributes Rs 78/kg a year later. This farming crisis between 3% and 4% of GNP (ICO, 1997). deserves a more complete analysis, but the point here is to highlight how the Indian In India there seems to be a consensus that agricultural sector is facing a difficult pe- the agricultural sector is suffering a seri- riod that is affecting many crops. ous crisis (Muralidharan, 2001). Several rea-
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Coffee production are, while in 2000-01 the expected produc- tivity was about 1,084 kg of parchment cof- offee planted areas have increased fee per hectare. The suggestion is that crop markedly in India during the last half technology has been responsible for this century. In 1950/51 there were increase in productivity. Figure 3 shows the C trend in coffee productivity in India (x-scale 92,523 ha, but by 1999/00 the total area had grown to 340,306 ha. Figure 1 shows a not continuous). very significant increase in total area dur- ing the 1970s and 1980s. Arabica increased Nevertheless, coffee yield remains close to by about 100,000 ha, whilst robusta rose 1 ton/ha, which is low in comparison to by 146,000 ha. Areas planted to arabica and yields in other coffee countries. So, even robusta are now roughly equal. without expansion in total area, there may still be considerable scope for an increase In 1950/51 production was estimated at in total production. about 18,893 metric tonnes while in 2000/ 01 the forecast is for 295,000 metric tonnes Arabica and robusta are classified accord- (Coffee Board, 2001). Figure 2 shows this ing to the post-harvesting processing clearly. method: “washed” and “non-washed” (naturals), and are further classified into 25 In 1950-51 coffee productivity was approxi- grades based on the size of the bean and mately 255 kg of parchment coffee per hect- on the total number of defects or imperfec-
Figure 1. Area planted with coffee in India, 1950-51 / 2000-01
Figure 2. Coffee produc- tion in India, 1950-51/ 2000-01 12
Figure 3. Yield per hect- are in India, 1950-51/ 2000-01
tions (ICO, 1997). Separate from this sys- Coffee zones and growing tem, specialty coffee is now the fastest grow- ing segment, and India hopes to export more in the next few years. Organic coffee is also inety two percent of Indian coffee is of increasing interest, especially for coffee grown in the states of Karnataka, grown on tribal land, which represents NKerala and Tamil Nadu, the rest in about 42% of the coffee area in India. Here small sectors of the states of Andhra coffee is managed in a less intensive tradi- Pradesh and Orissa, as well as in some of tional way, which is close to organic pro- the North Eastern states. Table 3 describes duction guidelines (Central Coffee Research production in the main coffee areas in In- Institute, 2000). Some of the grades of spe- dia. Figure 4 shows a map of India, high- cialty coffee and value added coffee are lighting the main coffee states. Mysore nuggets EB, Monsooned Malabar (AA, PB, C), Monsooned Arabica AA, Forty nine percent of coffee in India is Monsooned Robusta AA, Monsooned arabica and fifty one percent robusta. Cof- Arabica Tr., Monsooned Robusta Tr., fee leaf rust (CLR, Hemileia vastatrix) is a Monsooned Basanally, Monsooned Arabica major constraint to arabica production and BBB, Monsooned Robusta C., Monsooned Ro- efforts have been made to obtain resistant busta Bulk, Monsooned Robusta Blacks, varieties. Hence the main goal in arabica Robusta Kapi Royale. Exports for these varietal improvement is CLR resistance, to- coffees have roughly doubled in the last gether with high productivity, wide adapt- decade (Table 2). ability and improved quality. In the case of
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Figure 4. Main coffee producing states in India
robusta it is known that this species pos- sity can range from 6,900 trees/ha in dwarf sesses high tolerance to leaf rust disease, arabica varieties to 1,000 in robusta variet- white stem borer, nematode attacks and has ies such as SLN.1 R or SLN.3 R. The national good potential to give consistent yields. Re- average is around 1,000 to 1,400 coffee search therefore is concentrated on its trees/ha. shortcomings: lack of drought-resistance, late stabilisation of yields and inferior cup The amount and the frequency of fertiliser quality. use in India varies according to the coffee variety. For instance, there are four key pe- But other factors such as soil characteris- riods to apply fertilisers: pre-blossom, post- tics and climate conditions have an impor- blossom, monsoon and post-monsoon. For tant role in deciding what type of coffee arabica, if a high yield is expected (above should be grown. Table 4 describes the ad- 1,000 kg parchment coffee/ha), coffee farm- equate conditions for each type of coffee. ers should apply fertiliser in each of the above periods. But if the expected yield is The density of coffee trees per hectare var- below 1,000 kg, the monsoon period appli- ies according to several conditions. The den- cation can be avoided. On the other hand, 14
for robusta, if the yield is above 1,000 kg, tries such as Colombia, Honduras or Mexico. farmers should apply fertilisers three times Table 6 below describes the distribution a year (pre-blossom, post-blossom and post- pattern of holdings in different states of monsoon). When the expected yield is be- India (Coffee Board, 2000). low 1,000 kg, it is recommended to apply pre-blossom and post-monsoon only. From Table 6, 98% of farmers have less than 10 ha, and 86% have 2 ha (5 acres) or less. It is generally larger farmers who carry out This characteristic is important since the coffee fertilisation. Large farms apply adoption of technologies is often affected fertilisers near the recommended levels, by farm size. Duque et al. (2000), working while smallholders commonly choose lower in Colombia, found that the adoption of IPM rates or none at all. The use of organic mat- in CBB management was higher with me- ter is also frequent. The expected price for dium and large-scale farmers than with the coffee harvest obviously plays a key role smallholder farmers (with less than 5 ha of in decisions about fertiliser application. coffee).
At the farm level, Indian coffee productiv- If this is true for other coffee countries, the ity is low in comparison with yields reached strategy for transferring IPM should be de- in other countries such as Brazil, Colombia signed to promote good adoption levels or Vietnam. But productivity has been grow- despite socio-economic barriers, but also ing. Table 5 shows coffee productivity ac- the IPM strategy by itself should be made cording to the species grown over the last easy to adopt. Despite most coffee produc- five years. ers being smallholders, from Table 6 it can be concluded that for Indian coffee there is a land concentration and if we take the cu- Coffee farmers mulative percentage of farmers and coffee areas we can quantify this as the Gini coef- n India there are estimated to be 140,293 ficient (Tascon, 1980). This indicator gives coffee farmers while the total area a measure of land concentration, which in Iplanted in this crop is 340,306 ha; so the this case has a value of 0.48 that indicates national average would be 2.42 ha of coffee that there is some degree of land concen- per farmer, approximately 6.05 acres. This tration, e.g. 80% of coffee farmers have just figure is similar to that found in other coun- 40% of the coffee area farmed. The Indian
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value of 0.48 compares to that of Colombia one farm. The coefficient equals the shaded (0.57) and Mexico (0.43), i.e. that land con- area divided by the total area below the 45° centration is lower than in Colombia, but line. This analysis is useful to help under- higher than Mexico. stand the importance of land distribution between owners, in order to design appro- Land concentration can be seen from dif- priate pest management strategies. ferent points of view e.g. land reforms, but it is important for IPM management because As mentioned above, 67% of the Indian the pest management proposal should take workforce works in agriculture. According into account the farmers’ resources (for in- to a study carried out by the Project (data stance, the method might create a high de- in preparation), Table 8 shows typical labour pendency on external inputs). It is logical requirements for 3 Indian states and re- to suppose that labour should be the most gions: Kogadu, Wayanad and Tamil Nadu available resource for these types of farms. (NB this excludes labour required for har- Another key point is that income generated vesting coffee). These are high requirements by small farms is of course not high (Table in comparison to other countries, but are 7), and if the market punishes coffee qual- less than other Indian estimates (e.g. Cof- ity they could be severely affected by CBB. fee Board, 2000). The ICO (1997) calculates that coffee production in India employs The Figure 5 displays the graphical repre- around 367,000 persons equaling 1.07 sentation of the Gini coefficient. The 45° labourers per hectare. Labour costs show sloping line (Gini coefficient = 0) means no differences between producing states. Table land concentration whereas a value of 1 9 indicates the labour cost in four states of would mean all land was concentrated in India. 16
Figure 5. Land concen- tration in the coffee sector in India
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Hence a contracted temporary worker could ent effects depending on the period of the expect an annual income of around US$ 250 year when income is scarce because some if he works all year. In comparison to many activities have to be delayed to attend to a countries labour is therefore very cheap in more important activity. The farmer has to India (e.g. compared with Colombia, where manage different labour requirements and a labourer could earn the Indian yearly availability to optimise his gross income. In equivalent in about two months), and this the case of CBB management, practices that is no doubt the reason why labour is a can easily be accommodated by the farmer smaller proportion of the total production will be easier to transfer. cost structure. IPM strategies often demand greater amounts of labour than another In order to diversify their income, Indian methods (e.g. chemicals), hence the low cost coffee farmers have developed production of the labour in this country could facili- systems involving more than one crop in tate the adoption of an IPM strategy for man- order to get income from different sources aging CBB. and in different periods of the year. In a survey carried out in the Project on coffee Coffee farmers’ income is seasonal in India, farmers in Karnataka it was found that which is a risky situation because there is 95.6% of them had pepper as an inter-crop. just one peak of income per year. In order In many cases the inter-crop allows genera- to minimise the effect of these seasonal tion of an important part of the total farm variations, farmers can attempt to spread income. For example, during Mr. Duque’s flows of labour and harvest production visit to the Wayanad region, he met Mr. throughout the year. Upton (1996) points Vijayakumar who has a small farm of about out that there are various strategies, such 1 ha. He told him that his income depended as diversification of agricultural production, on three sources - coffee, pepper and areca to establish different on- and off-farm ac- nut. The individual split of each appears in tivities, storing food, seeds and animal fod- Figure 6 below. der, etc. Seasonal income will have differ-
Figure 6. Income composition in a small farm, Wayanad district 18
It is therefore important to stress the con- clean coffee are needed to cover all variable tribution of other crops to the income com- costs. Yield over the break-even point will position of a normal coffee farm. It is quite cover fixed costs and the farm’s profit. The possible that sometimes this alternative in- formula proposed by Kay (1981) can be used come becomes a relevant source to cover for this purpose for robusta coffee, assum- costs related to CBB management. ing a farm gate price of Rs 650/50 kg of cherry coffee (Coffee Board of India, 2001).
Coffee production costs
offee production costs in India for the year 2000-2001 was approxi- Cmately Rs 15,952/acre, around US$ 340/acre. This figure is equivalent to US$ 850/ha/year. Table 10 shows the composi- If the average yield is 468 kg of clean coffee tion of the total production cost in terms per acre (for 2000 – 2001), the average of both fixed and variable costs. break-even point would not be reached by many Indian coffee farmers. This situation From Table 10 it can be inferred that fixed reflects the real world scenario of interna- costs are high, perhaps due to the irriga- tional coffee prices. The Figure 7 elaborates tion equipment that was considered as a on this. fixed cost. When the proportion of fixed costs is high it is more difficult to reach a As can be seen in Figure 7 an ‘average’ cof- break-even point. A break-even analysis can fee farm would not reach the break-even be useful to know how many kilograms of point, due mainly to high fixed costs and
Figure 7. Break-even point for an average farm in the sample
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low coffee prices. Assuming that all other tation levels will lead to higher CBB man- variables analyzed remain constant, there agement costs, which would increase vari- would need to be an increase in coffee price able costs. But on the other hand, depend- of about Rs 35/kg to reach the break-even ing on the infestation level, CBB can reduce point. Thus CBB can play a key role in the yield. If yield reduced so that the total rev- economic performance of Indian coffee enue per acre was also reduced, the break- farms, because on the one hand high infes- even point would be more difficult to reach.
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Incidence and spread The Coffee Board, the Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine and Storage, Govern- he coffee berry borer was first re- ment of India, the Directorates of Horticul- ture, Govt. of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, ported from a large plantation in and the United Planters’ Association of Gudalur, Nilgiri District, Tamil Nadu T South India organized the first major sur- during February 1990. Damage to berries vey of coffee berry borer during September was first noticed in the curing works, where 1990. A systematic sampling method was the coffee from this plantation was pro- adopted to assess the infestation level in cessed, and the cause was identified as in- coffee estates as well as at coffee curing sect damage. The matter was reported to centers. In the field survey, 50 plants each the CBI’s Research Department and the in- from five locations in each estate were se- sect was identified as the coffee berry borer, lected. Two branches from infested plants Hypothenemus hampei. Immediate surveys were selected for recording the number of in the surrounding areas revealed the pres- infested berries and the percentage of plant ence of the borer in a few more plantations, and berry infestations were calculated. and interim control measures were sug- gested based on the information available. At curing centres, composite samples were Simultaneously, surveys and awareness prepared by drawing one kilogram of sample campaign programmes were organized in from each bag, out of 10% of bags selected the infested and surrounding areas. It is from 10% of the lots in storage. A working thought that Sri Lankan refugees who sample of one kilogram was further pre- settled in the area might have brought berry pared out of four composite samples by borer infested coffee from Sri Lanka for dividing them into four equal parts. After domestic use, resulting in an accidental in- screening the samples thoroughly for in- troduction of this pest. fested beans, the percentage of bean /cherry infestation was calculated.
On detection of the pest, the Coffee Board This survey revealed that: immediately initiated a series of steps to combat the new pest problem through its Fourteen estates of 58 estates Research and Extension Departments. All screened in 166 locations had CBB in- the Extension and Research units were festation - one in Sulthan Bathery, alerted and large-scale grower education Wayanad, Kerala and 13 in Gudalur, programmes were launched in all the cof- Tamil Nadu. The range of plant infes- fee zones. Intensive surveys were organised tation varied from 1% to 95% and in the pest-affected areas and infested es- berry infestation from 0.83% to tates identified. The information on the 13.98%. possible techniques for combating the cof- fee berry borer was collected by literature The presence of CBB infested coffee survey and was passed onto coffee growers was confirmed in two curing works, for immediate field application of suitable namely M/s. Kushalanagar Works, methods. Phytosanitary measures, such as Kudige, and M/s. Karnataka Coffee a clean and timely harvest, proper gleaning Planters Coffee Curing Works (P) Ltd., collection, removal of left-over and off sea- Kushalnagar, on the basis of 1819 son berries and spot application of endosul- samples drawn from 76 lots from 50 fan were immediately advocated for the go-downs in 6 curing centers. The control of the pest. Simultaneously, experi- range of infested beans varied be- ments were initiated by the Research De- tween 0.22% and 1.26% of beans. partment on the biology of the pest and the effectiveness of various methods for its The pest infestation had spread to management (see below for more details). more areas in Gudalur and shown its
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presence in Wayanad, Kerala. How- form a contiguous coffee growing tract. The ever, CBB had not entered into the CBB infestation in this region had spread plantations of Kodagu District, from the Niligiris towards the North cover- Karnataka. ing Wayanad and South Kodagu over a pe- riod of four to five years. The pest was first Survey / campaign programmes were orga- noticed outside this region in the nized regularly in all the three districts Perumalmalai coffee zone of Pulney Hills (Nilgiris, Wayanad and Kodagu), and the in- ranges, Tamil Nadu, during September 1995. fested areas identified for follow-up action. This region is quite far away from the As the pest was spreading gradually to other Nilgiris-Wayanad region, and is separated areas, a second joint survey / awareness by a large stretch of land not growing cof- campaign was conducted in Nilgiris, fee. Wayanad and Kodagu in association with the Directorate of Plant Protection, Quar- Further spread of the CBB in Kodagu was antine and Storage during October 1991. noticed during June 1999, when it was re- corded from three villages of Somwarpet This survey revealed that as compared to zone in North Kodagu. The pest was also 1990 the pest was widely spread in Gudalur recorded in Hassan District for the first time and had entered into the adjacent Coonoor in October 1999 from one village in taluk of Nilgiris District. Fresh incidence of Sakleshpur zone. the pest was also recorded in 16 estates in Sulthan’s Bathery and Vythiri taluks of Though the pest was first recorded from Wayanad District. The presence of the pest Pulney Hills during 1995, the incidence was was also confirmed in Kutta and Theralu confined to one village of Pethuparai in villages of Virajpet taluk of Kodagu District. Perumalmalai Zone till 1999. During the The berry borer incidence in Kodagu was survey in October 1999, the pest was de- earlier reported from Kutta during Febru- tected in 21 major coffee growing villages ary 1991. of the Pulney Hills. During December 1999, the pest was recorded from Adimali and During 1992 pest build up was confined to Kattappana liaison zones in South Kerala, areas identified in the previous years and which are adjacent to the Pulney Hills. fresh incidences were noticed to a limited extent. In another major survey conducted During August 2000, the pest was recorded during September 1993, covering 1,328 es- in Bodinayakanur, Tamil Nadu. By March tates in Kodagu region, the pest was ob- 2001, the CBB had spread to an area of 118, served in 16 villages of Siddapur and in one 453 ha, accounting for 35% of the total cof- village each of Virajpet, Sunticoppa and fee area of the country. The annual spread Madikeri Liaison Zones. During the March of the pest, and annual cumulative pest in- 1994 survey, screening of 176 estates in fested area, are graphically depicted in Fig- Kodagu region confirmed the presence of ure 8. the pest in two more villages of Siddapur and four more villages of Virajpet Zone. The data show that the CBB spread during Further surveys were conducted during Feb- the first five to six years was rapid with an ruary 1995 in all the three Taluks of Kodagu annual average increase of 35%. However, district and the pest was recorded from four from 1996 onwards, the rate of spread de- more villages of Gonicoppal, six in Virajpet, clined to about 5.1%. The state-wise CBB four in Siddapur, three in Madikeri and two infested area as of March 2001 is presented in Sunticoppa Zones. in Figure 9.
The coffee growing areas of Niligiri District So far the coffee berry borer has not been of Tamil Nadu, Wayanad District of Kerala noticed in Chikmagalur region, which is the and Kodagu District of Karnataka together major coffee growing district of Karnataka 24
State. The other major coffee growing ar- completed by December/January. The grow- eas still free from CBB incidence are Yercaud ers bestow more care on a timely harvest of in Tamil Nadu, Biligiri Hills in Karnataka and arabica as most arabica coffee is prepared Nelliampathy and Attappadi in Kerala. as washed coffee. On the other hand, ro- busta takes more time for ripening and so An analysis of the nature and spread of the harvesting generally extends up to Febru- coffee berry borer incidence in the affected ary/March. Since robusta coffee is pro- areas points to the fact that the build up cessed by drying the fruits to prepare cherry and spread are faster in robusta areas when coffee, there is a general tendency to pro- compared to arabica areas. The pest prob- long the harvesting due to various reasons, lem is acute in Wayanad and southern parts especially if there is a labour shortage. This of Kodagu where robusta is predominantly offers the berry borer a better chance to cultivated. Inter-cropping dwarf varieties multiply faster as the berries at this stage like Cauvery under robusta could aggravate are best suited for their multiplication. If the problem due to the availability of the berries are left on the plants after ripening, right type of fruits for a longer time as the number of berries falling during harvest Cauvery matures much earlier to robusta. would be more. This leads to increased re- Harvesting of arabica coffee is generally sidual populations of the pest in the fallen
Figure 8. Spread of coffee berry borer in India
Figure 9. State- wise spread of CBB as of March 2001
24 25 berries (gleanings). Furthermore, berries left Coffee phenology over on tall branches of big robusta bushes can also provide a refuge for the CBB. and CBB attack
The incidence level of CBB on Pulney Hills t is important to consider how coffee was found to be higher than in other areas. phenology relates to CBB abundance in This is mainly due to the multiple blossom IIndia. As in all coffee countries, rainfall (i.e. running blossom) experienced in this pattern is a critical factor because of the region, which results in the availability of way in which precipitation triggers flower- fruits almost throughout the year. This fa- ing and hence the berries upon which CBB cilitates a continuous build up of the pest, depends. In Figure 10 we can see that the and adoption of either cultural or phyto- rainfall pattern consists of four main sanitary control measures becomes imprac- phases: winter, pre-monsoon, monsoon and ticable. post-monsoon. Secondly, the main stages of
CBB entering coffee berry
Figure 10. Rainfall pattern, coffee phenology and CBB attack 26
the coffee fruiting phenology is depicted, variable is the variety - for robusta the and finally the horizontal bar represents the flower-to-ripe-bean cycle is about 40 weeks, most critical period for CBB management. whilst for arabica it is less.
Flowering can occur in February or March if Finally in Figure 10 the most critical period a farmer has irrigation facilities; if not, then for CBB attacks is depicted as the period they have to wait until April when natural between August and October, so labour and flowering will follow the start of the rains. other inputs (e.g. spraying of insecticides) Because of this, the coffee harvest occurs are particularly required at this time. in either December or January. A further
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Overview of previous Thus, to address some of the management technology issues, the Coffee Board started work in India a research programme in the early 1990s to evolve components for a management uring monitoring surveys and visits strategy based on integrated pest manage- to CBB affected estates, interactions ment (IPM) principles. The on-farm valida- Dwith growers on management issues tion of these technologies is discussed later highlighted the following key factors: in this report.