Coffee Crop Pest Infestation Found At Kipahulu Farm
From: mauinews.com
“You farm all your life; you know these are coming and they come,” said the owner of Maui’s largest coffee farm after the state Agriculture Department reported Thursday that the coffee berry borer has made its way to the Valley Isle.
Kimo Falconer, president and owner of MauiGrown Coffee, said the beetle — which can claim as much as a third of a coffee berry crop — has not been found on his 400-acre farm in Kaanapali, but an infestation has been detected in Kipahulu.
Falconer has begun taking preventative action, such as cutting down trees near the road to prevent hitchhiking beetles from hopping on trees, and workers have been checking beans from the recently completed harvest for pest damage. Berry borer traps have been up on the farm for the past two years, and they have been clean.
