Skip to main content
ARS Home » Plains Area » Sidney, Montana » Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory » Pest Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #351063
Research Project: Ecology and Management of Grasshoppers and Other Rangeland and Crop Insects in the Great Plains

Location: Pest Management Research

Title: Efficacy of Beauveria Bassiana applications on Coffee Berry Borer across an elevation gradient in Hawaii

Author
item GRECO, ELSIE - University Of Hawaii
item WRIGHT, MARK - University Of Hawaii
item BURGUEÑO, JUAN - University Of Veracruzana
item Jaronski, Stefan

Submitted to: Biocontrol Science and Technology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/17/2018
Publication Date: 6/22/2018
Citation: Greco, E., Wright, M., Burgueño, J., Jaronski, S. 2018. Efficacy of Beauveria Bassiana applications on Coffee Berry Borer across an elevation gradient in Hawaii. Biocontrol Science and Technology. https://doi.org/10.1080/09583157.2018.1493088.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09583157.2018.1493088

Interpretive Summary: The coffee berry borer is an extremely serious pest of coffee that has now invaded Hawaii, and especially the Kona coffee region of Hawaii Island. The insect pathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana is widely used in coffee producing countries to combat this pest. In the U.S. there is one registered strain of this fungus, GHA. This paper reports three replicated field tests of the fungus conducted at three different elevations (and climatic conditions) on the Kona coast, in which the formulated spores of this fungus were sprayed onto infested coffee trees. Overall effectiveness of the fungus treatments was 69-95% and was affected by the position of the adult females boring into the green beans at the time of spray. The trials indicate that the commercial Beauveria could be a useful part of an IPM program in Hawaiian coffee. In addition, we discovered an association between elevation of the coffee farm and beetle prevalence and occurrence of native Beauveria . The infestation level by the beetle increased with altitude, from 3.9% to 22%. Natural Beauveria prevalence was 3 or 6% on the farms at 538 m and 145 m, resp., an 23% at 768 m. This situation may have been due to microclimatic factors at these locations.

Technical Abstract: The effect of three rates of a commercial formulation of Beauveria bassiana Strain GHA was evaluated against the coffee berry borer (CBB) Hypothenemus hampei Ferrari (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae), at three commercial coffee farms located at different altitudes on the island of Hawaii. Hypothenemus hampei infestation and natural prevalence of B. bassiana increased with the elevation. At 145 m, beetle infestation was 3.9 %; at 538 m, beetle infestation was 12.2 %; and at 768 m infestation was 22.3 %. The prevalence of natural B. bassiana killing CBB was 5.5 % on farm 1, 3.3 % on farm 2 and 23.1 % on farm 3. Monthly applications of B. bassiana caused no significant differences in levels of CBB infestation among treatments. Similarly, rates of infested berries with visually detectable signs of B. bassiana were similar among the B. bassiana treatments, ranging from 0.44 % to 4.24 %, and those percentages were larger than the treatments without B. bassiana. The percentage of females killed by Beauveria ranged from 69 % to 95 %. Effect of dose of BotaniGard® ES was less effective when beetles were in the C position compared to A and B position. Beauveria bassiana can be an important component of an integrated pest management program against CBB. Other management techniques such as regular harvesting, monitoring beetle population and sanitation must be also implemented to keep the CBB populations under an economic threshold level and improve the effectiveness of the fungus.