Tag: coffee berry borer

November 25, 2010 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Kona 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 West Hawaii farms but hasn’t been seen on other islands.

The quarantine restricts the movement of coffee plants, plant parts, green beans and bags unless the items are treated with pesticides or heating methods to kill the beetle and its larvae, according to the Department of Agriculture.

”Movement of green beans is restricted unless it’s fumigated,” said Department of Agriculture spokeswoman Janelle Saneishi.

The beetle was first detected in West Hawaii-grown coffee beans in mid-September. Agriculture officials haven’t yet determined how it arrived on the Big Island.

The quarantine could last up to a year. It doesn’t apply to farmers who are sending green beans out of state.

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November 23, 2010 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

State 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 the Big Island, unless properly treated to kill the alien beetle and its larvae.

Contaminated coffee farm areas from Kaloko in South Kona to Manuka State Park in Kau also are barred from taking unroasted coffee berries, coffee plants, and related bags to areas on the Big Island that are still free of the coffee berry borer.

The quarantine rule will go into effect when it is published in newspapers in a few days and can remain in effect for a year, the state said.

State approves quarantine zones to stop spread of coffee berry borer on Big Island – Hawaii News – Staradvertiser.com

November 8, 2010 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Columnist 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 earthquake, but folks who live in rural areas were not as affected. Voltaire Moise and I traveled from north to south and found life much as it had been for decades in the countryside.

The land is rich, plus Haitians are hard-working and self-sufficient. Lack of medical help, schools and good roads makes life difficult, but not impossible.

The city, on the other hand, was literally destroyed.

There were more than half a million people killed and over a million are now living in cardboard and tarp structures until homes and buildings can be rebuilt.

As we left Haiti, an outbreak of cholera had affected thousands and as I write this, Hurricane Tomas is forecast to hit Haiti with 100 mph winds! Folks in the makeshift tents have nowhere to protect themselves. It is heartbreaking! If you want to help, you can make financial donations to the Farmer to Farmer Program of Partners of the Americas. The contact person is Megan Olivier, program director, 1424 K Street NW, Washington, D.C., 20005. The funds will reach Benito Jasmin, Haiti country coordinator of the program. For as little as $50, you can keep a child clothed, fed and in school for one month.

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November 4, 2010 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Berry borer backlash

by Carolyn Lucas-Zenk

An immediate suspension of green coffee imports into Hawaii to prevent further damage by the coffee berry borer is being sought by the Kona Coffee Farmers Association.

Hawaii Department of Agriculture officials also are preparing a quarantine on green coffee bean transportation from Kona, where the pest was confirmed at 21 sites between Kaloko and Manuka State Park, said Neil Reimer, Hawaii Plant Pest Control Branch chief.

The Advisory Committee on Plants and Animals may consider the quarantine request at a meeting later this month. However, the seven-member committee was struggling to establish a quorum and Lyle Wong, Plant Industry Division administrator, is in China, Reimer said.

If the pest is deemed an “immediate emergency” and the committee passes the recommendation, it will go before the Board of Agriculture for approval and implementation. The 10-member board usually meets the last Tuesday of the month in Honolulu, Reimer said.

A search Wednesday of the Department of Agriculture’s online calendars showed no meetings scheduled in November and December for the Advisory Committee on Plants and Animals or the Board of Agriculture.

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November 2, 2010 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Ban on imported coffee beans urged

The Kona Coffee Farmers Association is pushing for the state Department of Agriculture to suspend imports of green coffee beans into Hawaii in a move the association said will prevent further crop destruction by the coffee berry borer beetle.

The trade group publicized its wish yesterday following a resolution passed by members two weeks ago.

A technical advisory board to the Agriculture Department may consider the request at a meeting later this month. However, the Agriculture Department has doubts about whether the coffee borer got to Hawaii in green bean imports. The agency along with the U.S. Department of Agriculture is studying the issue.

The agency also is considering whether to prohibit transporting green, or unroasted, beans between islands. Another pursuit calls for seeking biological control methods including finding natural enemies of the tiny bug threatening one of Hawaii’s biggest crops.

Hawaii had been one of only two places in the world free of the borer, Hypothenemus hampei, which is a beetle that’s a bit smaller than a sesame seed and is native to Central Africa.

The devastating pest’s presence is believed to be limited to South Kona, and it may have been present for several years. The beetle’s existence in Kona was reported and confirmed in September.

Business Briefs – Hawaii Business – Staradvertiser.com

October 28, 2010 General Ag News and Notes Post a Comment

Admired ag inspector turns in his badge

After 30 years of protecting native animals and plants, the head of Hawaii’s agricultural inspection operation leaves behind a short-handed and beleaguered team today, worried that invading species are slipping into the islands.

“Shipments are backed up but are still being inspected. That’s the good part,” said Domingo Cravalho Jr., who is retiring as inspection and compliance section chief for the state Department of Agriculture. “Because of the lack of resources and lack of inspectors and the reduction in the amount of good inspections, things are getting through. …

“It’s overwhelming at times and some individuals may be overlooking things or bypassing things. Under the circumstances, we just don’t have enough eyes and ears out there.”

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