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Coffee

White stem borer

Symptoms of damage

Larvae enter into the hardwood and make the tunnels may extend even into the roots.
Tunnels - tightly filed with the excreta of the grubs.
Infested plants show visible ridges around the stem.
Yellowing and wilting of leaves.
Young plants (7 to 8 years old) attacked by the borer may die in a year

Identification of pest

Adult - slender, long beetle (2.5 cm).

Forewings are black with white bands.

Males are generally smaller than females.

Head Shows distinctly raised black Ridges and the Hind Leg Femur extends beyond the apex of the Elytra

In the Female,the Black Ridges on the Head are not much conspicuous and the hind leg Femur does not extend beyond the apex of the Elytra

Management

Maintain optimum shade on the estates.
Trace the infested plants - flight periods (i.e, during March and September)
Every year - looking for ridges on the main stem and thick primaries.
Collars prune the infested plants, uproot and burn the affected parts.
Remove the loose scaly bark of the main stem and thick primaries using coir glove or coconut husk – kill the eggs
Scrubbing during flight periods - kills the eggs and grubs present in the bark region.
Deep scrubbing should be avoided (sharp implement may injure the green wood and eventually kill the plant)
Spraying the main stem and thick primaries with neem kernel extract may afford good control of the pest.
Field release of predators Apenesia sps for effective control of white stem borer
Field release of white muscardine fungus Beaveria bassiana (2.5 % field infection reported)

Coffee berry borer

Symptoms of damage

Pin hole at the tip of the berries (novel region)
Severe infestation - two or more holes may be seen.
Female beetle bores into the berries through the navel region make tunneling and feed inside content
Powdery substance pushed out through the holes

Identification of pest

Adult - small black beetle with a sub cylindrical body covered with thick hairs.

Males are smaller.

Management

Proper adoption of cultural practices and phytosanitary measures important for management of coffee berry borer.
Transportation of infested coffee to uninfected areas is the main reason for spread.
Crop bags should be fumigated before delivery to estates to avoid cross infestation.
Timely harvest
Gleaning - spreading gunny bags or polythene sheets on the ground after picking the berries - minimize gleaning.
Maintain optimum shade and good drainage.
Dipping infested berries in boiling water for 2-3 minutes kills all the stages inside.
Drying of coffee beans – prevents breeding of beetles in stored coffee based on moisture content level.
Arabica (10% moisture content) - 16kg/lit
Roubsta (11% moisture content) - 18kg/lit
Instal attractant trap to collect and kill the beetles
Instal multiple funnel trap and pitfall trap to collect and kill the adults
Chlorpyriphos is also effective in controlling the beetle.
Field release of Cephalonomia stephendarix and phymastichus coffea for effective control these pests.
Applications of white muscardine fungus, Beauveria bassiana effectively reduce the borer attack
(Note: Spraying on ripe berries may not be useful. The time of application could be about 120-150 days after flowering (August – September for Arabica and September – October for Robusta).
Mix 500 ml of groundnut oil with 500 ml of any agricultural wetting agent thoroughly.
Add this suspension to 20 l of water and three bags of Beauveria culture the above solution mix well and strain through a muslin cloth.
Application of spore suspension on the infested coffee bushes using a bakpak sprayer, targeting the berries.
After 5 days application spores germinate and kill the insect.

Mango Stem Borer

Symptoms of damage

Infests green succulent branches.
Young plants - main stem may be attacked.
Presence of shot hole
Initial symptom - drooping of leaves
Withered (faster in young branches and delayed in older twigs) or dried branches
Attacked Leaves fall and prematurely
Terminal leaves wilt, droop and dry up.
Severe infestation - loss of considerable number of productive branches.

Identification of pest

Adult - brown to black with a short, sub cylindrical body and covered with fine hairs.

Females are darker and larger (1.5 to 1.8 mm)

Males are dull and small (0.8 to 1.0 mm)

Management

Insecticide applications do not provide for shot hole borer control.
Grub entered into twig and make tunneling – Ambrosia fungus developed from the tunneling. Female lays eggs on the tunneling
After egg hatching, the white milky larvae feed on the ambrosia fungus
Prune the affected twigs 2 to 3 inches beyond the shot-hole and burn (September)
Remove and destroy all the unwanted/infested suckers during summer (avoid breeding).

Maintain thin shade and good drainage.

Mealy bugs

Symptoms of damage

Young plants – susceptible for heavy infestation.
Infest tender branches, nodes, leaves, spikes, berries and roots
Both nymphs and adults suck the sap from the leaves.
Severe infestation - Chlorotic leaves, aborted flower buds and small berries
Honey dew excrete – development of sooty mould fungus (affects photosynthesis)

Identification of pest

Males - smaller and winged.

Female - wingless, oval body

Management

Maintain adequate shade.
Destroy nets of red ant and cocktailed ant.
Control ants by dusting quinalphos 1.5% or malathion 5% around the base of coffee and shade trees.
Spray the affected patches with quinolphos 25 EC 300 ml using a gator sprayer.
Infested roots - drench the soil near the root zone with any one of the above insecticides at the same dosage. (Add 300 ml of Plantvax 20 EC or 160 g of Bayleton 25 WP in 200 l water)
In the case of young plants (2-4 year old) drenching with dimethoate 30 EC @ 3 ml per litre of water effective in root and shoot mealy bugs.
Field release of two introduced natural enemies viz., the predatory lady bird beetle Cryptolaemus montrouzieri and the parasitoid Leptomastix dactylopii

Green scale

Symptoms of damage

Nymphs and adults sucks sap from undersurface of the leaves, green shoots, spikes and berries.
Upward curling and tender twigs drop
Honeydew excrete – development of sooty mould fungus
Heavy loss of the sap causes debility or even death of the plant.

Identification of pest

Ants movement

Nymphs – pale yellow colour

Adult - flat, oval, light green, blackish spots on dorsum

Management

Control ants as in the case of mealy bugs.
Remove and burn weeds which harbour the scale.
Spray the affected patches quinolphos 25 EC @ 120 ml using a gator sprayer in 200 l of water and add 200 ml of any agricultural wetting agent in 200 l of the spray solution.

Brown scale

Symptoms of damage

Nymphs and adults suck sap from undersurface of the leaves
Honeydew excrete – development of sooty mould fungus

Identification of pest

Nymphs are yellow, greenish-brown or dark pink, flat and oval. ‘H’shaped yellow mark (Half grown scales)

Adult female is hemispherical, body is covered by a brown hard shield.

Management

Control ants as in the case of mealy bugs.
Remove and burn weeds which harbour the scale.
Spray the affected patches quinolphos 25 EC @ 120 ml using a gator sprayer in 200 l of water and add 200 ml of any agricultural wetting agent in 200 l of the spray solution.

Cockchafers or white grubs

Symptoms of damage

Grown up coffee plants normally attacked.
Young plants (1 to 5 years old) attacked by white grubs
Yellowing of leaves
Stunted growth
Wilting of plants and die (summer period).
Attacked plants can be easily pulled out

Identification of pest

Grub - C-shaped, dirty white with dark brown head.

Adults - reddish brown beetles

Management

In white grub-infested areas – at the time of planting apply phorate 5 G 10 g or carbofuran 3G 10 g into the soil in the pit.
Soil application of phorate 10 G @ 20 g per plant.
Field sanitation
Collect and kill the grubs
Install light traps and kill the trapped adults (March – June)

Hairy caterpillars

Symptoms of damage

Eupterote canaraica - important pests of Arabica coffee.
Feed on leaves and cause severe damage by denuding the plants.
Badly affected plants take 2 to 3 years to recover.

Identification of pest

Caterpillar – pale yellow colour

Adult - brownish yellow moth, two diagonal bands and zigzag lines on the wings.

Male is smaller than the female

Management

Collect and kill the caterpillars.
Collect and burn pupae from January to May.
Install light traps (June/July) - collecting and killing months.
Spray any one of the insecticides such as quinalphos 25 EC @ 320 ml, along with 100 ml of an agricultural wetting agent in 200 I of water.

Coffee bean beetle

Symptoms of damage

Severe infestation occurs only in storage
Absorption of moisture content
Infested coffee beans shows circular holes (bigger than made by the coffee berry borer)
Attacked fruits in the field shrink and become black.
Infestation results in loss of weight increase in triage and reduction of market value.

Identification of pest

Adult - Pale grey with black spots and the entire body clothed of fine hair.

Forewings - few longitudinal lines.

Wings do not cover the tip of the abdomen.

Management

Maintain optimum temperature, relative humidity and moisture content (less than 8%)
Impregnate the gunny bags with a mixture of malathion 50 EC at 10ml + pyrethrum colloid at 2 g per litre of water.

Snail

Symptoms of damage

The snail feeds on the leaves of Arabica coffee and bark of tender braches
Skin of fruits.

Identification of pest

Adult - medium sized snail, long and covered with a cream coloured spiralshell

Application of fish manure may attract snails.

Management

Keep the estates clean.
Hand picks the snails and dip in hot water or salt solution.
Use heaps of leaves to trap the snails.
Broadcast the poison bait ‘snail kill’ (metaldehyde) of 25-35kg per hectare
Spreading of lime, soot and wood ash - repels snails.

Red borer

Symptoms of damage

Caterpillar bores into the stem or branches to feed on the wood.
In early stages of attack, young plants or braches show wilting.
Pellet-like excrement of the larva hangs out and accumulates at the base of the plant.
In advanced cases, the branch dries up.

Identification of pest

Adult - orange colour, medium sized moth with spotted wings.

Management

Affected plants or twigs - cut and burnt.
Field release of white muscardine fungus B. bassiana and braconid parasite Amyosoma zeuzerae for control of the red borer