David Y. Ige | HDOA News Release: Coffee Berry Borer Confirmed on Kaua’i

HONOLULU – The coffee berry borer (CBB), one of the most devastating pest of coffee plants, has been confirmed in a residential area in Kalaheo on Kaua`i. This is the first detection on Kaua`i of CBB which has been established on Hawai`i Island, Maui and O`ahu for several years.

On Sept. 3, 2020, a Kalaheo resident submitted suspected infested coffee berries to the Kaua`i Invasive Species Committee (KISC) which sent the samples to the Hawai`i Department of Agriculture (HDOA) and to the University of Hawai`i, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (UH-CTAHR). Samples were forwarded to HDOA’s Plant Pest Control Branch in Honolulu where an entomologist confirmed CBB on Sept. 4^th. HDOA also collected additional samples from the resident’s property and yesterday began surveying neighboring residential properties. Additional surveys at other sites are being planned to…