This document provides information on coffee pests and diseases in Ethiopia. It discusses the three major coffee diseases: Coffee Berry Disease, Coffee Wilt Disease, and Coffee Leaf Rust. For each disease, it describes the causative agent, symptoms, economic importance, and management strategies. It also covers important insect pests like the Antestia bug and Coffee Leaf Miner. The document concludes with discussions of problems associated with post-harvest coffee handling and mycotoxin contamination, as well as an overview of integrated pest management practices for coffee.

1. Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development
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Agricultural Extension Department
COFFEE PESTS AND
DISEASES
December,
December 2008
Jimma

2. 1. Coffee Diseases
There are three major coffee diseases in
Ethiopia, namely:-
–Coffee Berry Disease
y
–Coffee Wilt Disease, and
–Coffee L f R t
C ff Leaf Rust

3. 1.1 Coffee Berry Disease
• Caused by Colletotrichum kahawae/
coffeanum
• Confound to East African highland coffee
growing regions
•H b
Has been reported i Ethiopia in 1972
t d in Ethi i i

4. Economic Importance
• A severe epidemic in central Kenya in
1967 caused the loss of entire crops and
overall losses were in excess of 30%
30%,
• In Ethiopia average national loss was
estimated to be between 24 30% (Eshetu,
24-30% (Eshetu
1997), losses on individual farms may
reach up to 100%

5. CBD Management
• Fungicide spraying in Ethiopia started in 1977
and the program was in operation until fungicide
subsidy was removed in1994,
• Subsidy for fungicide varied from 20% to free
supply of f
l f fungicides,
i id
• CBD resistant cultivars released since 1977,
• Since then significant proportion of coffee land
was covered by CBD resistant cultivars,
• I some coffee growing areas of the country
In ff i f th t
CBD resistant cultivars have failed to resist the
disease

6. CBD spraying was discontinued for
the following
th f ll i major reasons
j
• Hi h relative costs of fungicides
High l ti t ff i id
• Coffee price was not sufficient to cover
costs of inputs
• Low coffee productivity due to poor coffee
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management systems
• CBD spraying activity was considered
cumbersome.

7. Management options for CBD
Chemical Control: This is essential in most areas
affected by coffee berry disease,
Planting resistant cultivars: Many varieties of
Coffea
C ff arabica possess appreciable resistance to
bi i bl i
CBD but quality and yield performance are the
major challenges
challenges.
Cultural control: Pruning, appropriate shade
management, removal of mummified berries and
flower management through irrigation
Biological Control:

8. Biological Control
• Th use of fungicides against CBD i K
The ff i id i in Kenya h b
has been
shown to induce greater levels of disease. Some
estates which had never used fungicides did not have
high levels of CBD, and when used intermittently
fungicides can make t e d sease worse.
u g c des ca a e the disease o se
• The negative effects of fungicides were attributed to
the removal of micro-organisms antagonistic to the
g g
pathogen
• The micro-organisms were shown to have a natural
bio-control effect on the disease. This effect is still to
be developed and exploited in an integrated approach
to
t CBD control.
t l

9. 1.2. Coffee Wilt Disease
• P f
Preferred Name
dN
– Gibberella xylarioides
• Other Names Used
– Fusarium oxysporum forma xylarioides (Steyaert)
Deassus

10. HOSTS
• Primary hosts: Coffea arabica (arabica
coffee), Coffea canephora (robusta
coffee),
coffee) Coffea liberica (Liberian coffee
tree).
• Secondary hosts: Gossypium (cotton)
(cotton),
Lycopersicon esculentum (tomato), Musa
Spp.
Spp

11. Plant stages and parts affected
Flowering stage fruiting stage pre-
stage, stage, pre
emergence, seedling stage, and
vegetative growing stage
stage.

12. Transmission
• Spread by wind, rain and through human
activities (harvesting pruning slashing etc )
(harvesting, pruning, etc,)
• The pathogen can penetrate through wounds
so any agency causing wounds will aid the
spread of the fungus.
• Seed from infected berries may contain the
pathogen and seed borne infection is
considered to be the way in which the
disease has spread in Zimbabwe although
Girma et al. (2001) found that seeds did not
G ( )f
transmit the pathogen in Ethiopia.

13. Economic Importance
• In the 1940s and 1950s this disease was a
serious problem of coffee in several countries
in West and East Africa
• In recent years the prevalence of the disease
has been markedly increasing throughout
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coffee producing areas of the country.

14. Control
• Prohibiting free movement of coffee seedlings to disease
free areas
• Need to make utmost care to prevent wounding any part
of coffee trees,
• Disinfecting of tools used for pruning and stumping,
• Proper plantation management including appropriate
spacing
• Uprooting and burning
• Developing and using resistant varieties (7440, 74165,
8136, 1979 showed moderate to high level of resistance
to CWD).
CWD)

15. 1.3Damping Off and Seedling Blight
• M
Many fungi are associated with d
f i i t d ith damping off and
i ff d
seedling blight which include: Pythium
Phythophtora, Fusarium
Phythophtora Fusarium, and Rhizoctonia
Rhizoctonia.
• Predisposing factores include: high moisture level/
over watering and dense mulching,
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• Infested and emerged seedlings show water
soaking, browning or shriveling of the stems s a
result th k l over and di
lt they keel d die,
• Good nursery management practices lessons the
problem.
problem

16. 2. Coffee Insect Pests
• In Ethiopia insect pest problem remained
less as opposed to many coffee producing
countries,
countries
• Possible reasons for this include:
–E i t
Existence of diverse natural enemies
f di t l i
– Genetic diversity of Arabica coffee

17. Important Insect Pests
• Antestia Bug
• Coffee Leaf Miner
• C ff Scale I
Coffee S l Insectst

18. 2.1 Antestia bug
• There are three species of Antestia bug
(
(A.intricata, A. orbitalis, A. facetoides)
, , )
• Antestia bug suck green berries, flower buds,
and growing tips
• Result fall of immature berries, and
shortening of internodes
• Pruning of coffee trees and shade tree
regulation can reduce antestia population
l ti d t ti l ti
• Antestia eggs are reported to have three
species of parasitoides

19. 2.2 Coffee Bloch Leaf Miner
• Two species namely Leucoptera meyricki
and L. caffeina (shade loving)
• Under severe infestation the disease
causes heavy defoliation,
• R
Reported t be attacked by eight species
t d to b tt k d b i ht i
of parasitoides

20. 2.3 Coffee Scale Insects
• Seven species recorded in Ethiopia of
which two species are potentially
p
important
• Sap sucking and excretion of honey-dew
p
producing sooty moulds and attracting
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ants.
• Chemical control is possible indirectly by
p y y
controlling ants and allows natural
enemies to clean up the infestation.

22. 3. Problems associated with Coffee post
harvest
h t
• Direct effect: bean quality and q
q y quantity
y
deterioration as a result of presence of the
organism or metabolite of the organism
(mycotoxin)
– Bean discoloration caused by Pseudomonas syringae
– Moulds caused by some species of Fusarium,
Aspergillus and Pencillum
• I di
Indirect damage: causing l
td i low quality b
lit beans as
a result of damage caused at any stage of crop
go t
growth.

23. 4. Mycotoxin contamination
• Mycotoxins are poisonous chemical compounds
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produced by certain fungi species
• Mycotoxins occurring in food have chronic or cumulative
effects on health, including the induction of cancers and
immune deficiency
• Ochratoxin A has been reported to occur in raw coffee
• A
Aspergillus, P
ill Pencillium and F
illi d Fusarium species are lik l
i i likely
to be the most significant mycotoxin producing fungi
• These fungi are always associated with moisture and
g y
can not develop in completely dry environment
• Appropriate drying and good hygiene practices
throughout the coffee chain.

26. General
• IPM is a strategy that encourages the use of
multiple control tactics to manage pests
• Applying multiple control tactics minimizes the
pp y g p
chance that pests will adapt to any one tactic
• WORK WISELY instead of “killing y g your field all
the time”….interfere only if necessary

27. The main tactics
• Pest resistant or pest tolerance varieties
• Cultural control
• Physical
Ph i l control
t l
• Biological control
• Chemical control

28. Important knowledge
• The crop the season the area
crop, season,
• The pests (insects, mites, diseases,
weeds) – biology ecology
biology,
• The natural enemies
• Weather and climate
• Thresholds and economical damage g

29. Components of IPM
• Monitoring (scouting)
• Forecasting with available weather.
Prediction of problems
• Thresholds: determine when pest
populations h
l ti have reached a l
h d level th t
l that
could cause economic damage
• Prevention and avoiding of problems
• Control using appropriate strategies
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30. THANKYOU
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