KAILUA-KONA — The tiny pest packing a big punch will centerpiece a conference geared to West Hawaii coffee growers. ADVERTISING KAILUA-KONA — The tiny pest packing a big punch will centerpiece a conference geared to West Hawaii coffee growers. The
KAILUA-KONA — The tiny pest packing a big punch will centerpiece a conference geared to West Hawaii coffee growers.
The coffee berry borer conference will be held at the Courtyard King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel on Wednesday. Registration begins at 7:45 a.m., with the conference following from 8:20 a.m. to 5:15 p.m.
Coffee growers and researchers will engage in two dozen presentations, discussions and panels covering topics from current efforts to knock down the borer and future biocontrol plans using parasitoids to the economics of the infestation.
“It is a chance to showcase all of the excellent work and findings of the CBB area-wide mitigation and management program and to really emphasize the partnerships, strong industry support, Hawaii congressional delegation support, and the support of many others,” said Lisa Keith, a research plant pathologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Hilo.
Andrea Kawabata, an assistant extension agent for the University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human resources, said growers can expect to hear the latest recommendations from a team of researchers who span multiple agencies and have worked for the past four years on finding ways to control the beetle. Topics will include field sanitation such as strip picking, culture practices such as pruning, detailed pest monitoring using traps and field infestation counts, along with timely spraying to directly kill adult CBB, Kawabata said.
“On average, growers following these recommended guidelines have been able to maintain their CBB bean damage levels to 10 percent or less over the season; with some even below 5 percent bean damage,” Kawabata said in an email. “Conference speakers will provide the latest information available through past and on-going research and then discuss their findings with the farming community while on a question and answer panel with other knowledgeable scientists, stakeholders and coffee farmers. During this conference, growers are encouraged to provide feedback and ideas to help combat CBB in Hawaii.”
There is no charge for attendance but there is a hotel parking fee of $5.
