Pilot Testing of an Area-Wide Biological Control Strategy against the Coffee Berry Borer in Colombia Using African Parasitoids

Abstract

The coffee berry borer (CBB), Hypothenemus hampei (Ferrari, 1867) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae), native to Africa, is a major global insect pest of coffee. It has invaded many coffee production areas around the world that do not have natural enemies. In this study, two African parasitoids, Prorops nasuta Waterston (Hymenoptera: Bethylidae) and Phymastichus coffea Waterston (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae), were mass-reared for field release against H. hampei in Chinchiná, Colombia. More than 1.5 million wasps of each species were released on a 61-hectare coffee farm in replicated plots, resulting in parasitism rates of up to 7.7% for P. nasuta and 56.3% for P. coffea. This led to a maximum reduction in H. hampei field populations of 81% from dispersal coffee plots (old coffee crops before plant stumping) and 64.3% in colonization coffee plots (new coffee crops with active growing and fruiting plants) within the farm. As a result of this area-wide strategy, the percentage of CBB-infested coffee berries in colonization coffee plots decreased from 51.1 to 77.5% compared to coffee plots without parasitoid releases. This approach offers a promising alternative to the use of chemical insecticides and could be integrated into current pest management programs to control H. hampei.

Effect of Microclimate on the Mass Emergence of Hypothenemus hampei in Coffee Grown under Shade of Trees and in Full Sun Exposure

“…These include weed management, pruning of coffee and shade trees and, above all, the collection of residual coffee fruits to eliminate shelters and food for the pest during the intercropping period [42]. Other strategies include ethological control techniques, which seek to capture flying females using alcoholic traps [43]; biological control methods, which involve the release of parasitoid insects [44] and the spraying of entomopathogenic fungi [45]; and chemical control techniques, which apply contact insecticides to kill flying females [46].…”

Sustainable Strategies for the Control of Pests in Coffee Crops

“…Moreover, a large-scale (area-wide) biological control strategy with the use of CBB parasitoids has been recently tested in the field and has shown successful results in its application. In summary, the strategy consists of the release of the specific parasitoid predator Prorops nasuta (Waterston, 1923) (Hymenoptera: Bethylidae) before stumping coffee plantations in order to reduce dispersal rates of CBB and the release of the CBB adult specific parasitoid Phymastichus coffea (LaSalle, 1990) (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) in nearby coffee plantations, where the coffee fruits are under formation in order to reduce colonization rates [25]. The combination of the different strategist depending on the stage of ripening of the fruits and the phenology of the coffee plant allowed appropriate control of the pest.…”