WAILUKU >> Coffee growers on Maui are bracing for a destructive beetle to eventually make its way to the island. The coffee berry borer has been wreaking havoc on the Big Island for years. The pest made its way to Oahu in December. “I’ve been a farmer forever, and I know the reality of...
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Borer damaging Kona coffee industry
Coffee berry borer damage is resulting in diminished quality that could jeopardize the region’s position in the global coffee market, a grower and processor said Friday. Before the pest, identified in West Hawaii in September 2010, green bean coffee dropped off at the company’s processing station was of higher quality with about 22 percent...
Continue readingTrouble brewing
Growing coffee in Kona just isn’t what it used to be. The island’s coffee belt continues to deal with pests such as the coffee berry borer, warmer and dryer conditions, and the increasing cost of doing business. Nonetheless, for many growers, Kona coffee is a love and passion they will continue well into the...
Continue readingState officials report first infestation of coffee berry borer in Kau
The first infestation of the coffee berry borer in the Kau district of the Big Island has been detected at a farm in Pahala, state agricultural officials announced today. Infestations of the beetle, which threaten Hawaii’s $27 million coffee-growing industry, have been concentrated in West Hawaii. The coffee berry borer, a small beetle native...
Continue readingState wants to bring in fungus to control coffee pest
The Hawaii Department of Agriculture is proposing to make it easier to import a fungus used to control a type of beetle that is a major threat to Kona’s coffee bean farms. The Department of Agriculture said in a news release yesterday the proposal seeks to remove the fungus from the list of restricted...
Continue readingLack of rain, invasive pest take toll
by Carolyn Lucas-ZenkStephens Media A destructive insect and two-year drought didn’t affect the quality of Kona coffee, but did cut yield during the 2010-11 season. Bruce Corker, Kona Coffee Farmers Association board member, said the size of his coffee crop at his 3.8 acre farm, Rancho Aloha in Holualoa, fell approximately 25 percent due...
Continue readingKona coffee beans, plants quarantined over pest
KAILUA-KONA (AP) – Coffee plants and unroasted beans from Hawaii’s Big Island are being quarantined in hopes of preventing the spread of a crop-destroying pest from Kona farms to other islands. The Hawaii Board of Agriculture unanimously approved the emergency quarantine Tuesday due to the coffee berry borer, which has been found in 21...
Continue readingState approves quarantine zones to stop spread of coffee berry borer on Big Island
An emergency interim rule creating two quarantine zones to halt the spread of the coffee berry borer on and off the Big Island is expected to take effect in a few days. The state Board of Agriculture today passed the rule halting the shipment of unroasted coffee berries, coffee plants and related bags off...
Continue readingColumnist home after volunteer coffee, bamboo projects in Haiti
Just returning home from Farmer to Farmer coffee and bamboo projects in Haiti, I have never been more acutely aware of how blessed we are here. Of course most folks know that Haiti is a poor country, but the news is misleading. Yes, the capitol of Port au Prince was devastated by the January...
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