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Coffee berry borer (Hypothenemus hampei) Photo: placeholder pending image-fill pass

Coffee berry borer (Hypothenemus hampei)

The coffee berry borer, Hypothenemus hampei (Ferrari) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae), is the most damaging insect pest of coffee worldwide and a major economic threat to Indian arabica and robusta plantations. The adult female bores into developing coffee cherries and oviposits inside the endosperm, where larvae feed on the bean. CCRI surveys in Karnataka and Kerala have recorded berry damage of 5-25% in unmanaged blocks, with crop losses of US$500 million per year reported globally.

Identification and life cycle

  • Adult female: 1.6-1.8 mm long, shiny black-brown, robust; males are smaller (1.2 mm), flightless and rarely leave the berry
  • Eggs: pearly white, laid in groups of 30-50 inside a single bean
  • Larvae: legless, white, C-shaped, three instars feeding inside the bean
  • Lifecycle: egg-to-adult 25-35 days at 25 °C; multiple overlapping generations per year
  • Damage entry: a circular bore-hole at the apex of the cherry; cut berries reveal galleries and frass

Females sib-mate inside the berry and the female-biased sex ratio (10:1) allows rapid population build-up. The pest reproduces in fallen and dropped berries that act as inter-season carry-over reservoirs.

Hosts and damage

H. hampei attacks both C. arabica and C. canephora at all bean developmental stages from pin-head to ripe cherry; greatest oviposition occurs once the bean reaches 20% dry matter. Damage manifests as reduced bean weight, hollowed beans, premature cherry drop and downgrading at cup quality assessment. Bore-holes are also pathways for secondary fungal infection by Fusarium species.

Management

The Coffee Board IPM package combines:

  • Sanitation (key tactic): thorough strip-and-ground picking of left-over cherries at the end of harvest to break the carry-over cycle; this single practice reduces next-season infestation by 50-70%
  • Biological: release of the African parasitoid Cephalonomia stephanoderis; soil-active entomopathogenic fungi Beauveria bassiana sprayed at 10^9 conidia/mL
  • Semiochemical traps: methanol-ethanol (1:1) baited Brocap traps, 25 traps/ha, hung at cherry level during flowering and after blossom showers
  • Chemical (last resort): chlorpyriphos 0.05% or endosulfan-substitutes targeted at the pre-penetration window; once larvae are inside the bean, sprays are ineffective

See also: Coffee Arabica S 795 Selection, Coffee Robusta Cxr Coffea Canephora, Coffee White Stem Borer Xylotrechus, Coffee Leaf Rust Hemileia Vastatrix, Coffee Shade Cultivation Silver Oak.

Sources

  1. Coffee Berry Borer - CCRI Pest Management. Central Coffee Research Institute.
  2. Coffee Board IPM Bulletin - Berry Borer. Coffee Board of India.