Influence of rubber trees on leaf-miner damage to coffee plants in an agroforestry system

Abstract

The coffee leaf-miner (CLM) (Leucoptera coffeella Guérin-Mèneville; Lepidoptera: Lyonetiidae), the main pest of coffee plants, occurs widely throughout the Neotropics where it has a significant, negative economic and quantitative impact on coffee production. This study was conducted in a rubber tree/ coffee plant interface that was influenced by the trees to a varying degrees depending on the location of the coffee plants, i.e. from beneath the rubber trees, extending through a range of distances from the edge of the tree plantation to end in a coffee monocrop field. The most severe damage inflicted on coffee plants by the CLM (number of mined leaves) from April, which marks the start of the water deficit period, until September 2003 was in the zone close to the rubber trees, whereas the damage inflicted on plants in the monocropped field was comparable to that on coffee plants grown directly beneath the rubber trees, which received about 25-40 % of the available irradiance (I r-available irradiation at a certain position divided by the irradiation received in full sunlight, i.e. in the monocrop). From May until July damage caused by the CLM nearly doubled in each month. In midwinter (July), the damage decreased perceptibly from the tree edge toward the open field. From September onward, with the rising air temperatures CLM damage in the coffee monocrop started to increase. Based on these results, we conclude that coffee plants grown in the full sun incurred the most damage only at the end of winter, with warming air

Coffee Leaf Miner Incidence and Its Predation by Wasp in Coffee Intercropped With Rubber Trees

“…According to Neves et al (2007), intercropping coffee plants in agroforestry systems entails water savings, and coffee transpiration has shown to be significantly reduced when it is grown in shade conditions (MORAIS et al, 2007). Righi et al (2013) studying coffee in a crop production system with rubber trees, found a higher CLM's incidence after periods with greater soil water deficiency, the same occurred in the present study. Coffee plants under lower water stress are less susceptible to attacks from CLM (MEIRELES; CARVALHO; MORAES, 2001;ASSIS et al, 2012), given that plants under water stress show greater levels of nitrogen and lower levels of secondary metabolites, which are attractive to the pest (LAWTON; MCNEILL, 1979).…”

“…The incidence of L. coffeella decreased as the rainfall increased, corroborating other studies that have shown a reduction in the leaf miner's survival rate during rainy periods (ANTUNES, 1986; LOMELÍ-FLORES; BARRERA; BERNAL, 2010; RIGHI et al, 2013). Pereira et al (2007) found that rainfall is one of the primary causes of mortality at the egg and especially larval stages, which occur during the rainy season.…”

“…It was verified that coffee plants intercropped with banana trees (Musa spp.) or even the rubber trees (H. brasiliensis), in the tested design did not reduce the CLM occurrence (AMARAL et al, 2010;RIGHI et al, 2013). The selected tree's species or its spatial arrangement within intercropped systems, result in different microclimate changes (PARTELLI et al, 2014;ARAÚJO et al, 2015).…”

Effect of pigeon pea intercropping or shading with leucaena plants on the occurrence of the coffee leaf miner and on its predation by wasps in organic coffee plantings

“…The coffee leaf miner (CLM) Leucoptera coffeella (Lepidoptera: Lyonetiidae) is one of the key pests of coffee plantings and is reported in coffee growing regions throughout the world (PEREIRA et al, 2007;SCALÓN et al, 2011;RIGHI et al, 2013). The CLM larva mines the palisade parenchyma, prevents photosynthesis (NEVES et al, 2006), and may result in yield losses of 50% if control measures are not adopted (REIS & SOUZA, 1996).…”

Resistance to neurotoxic insecticides in populations of the coffee leafminer Leucoptera coffeella

“…The coffee leafminer Leucoptera coffeella (Guérin-Méneville, 1842) (Lepidoptera: Lyonetiidae) is originally from Africa and has become a pest species of great significance in many countries producing coffee (Coffea arabica and Coffea canephora) [1,2]. The extremely variable life cycle of this species and their damage to coffee crops make them a pest with a high destruction capacity [3][4][5].…”