High coffee prices create investment opportunities and reinforce the need to pay attention coffee berry borer management

Biological insecticides have emerged as an affordable, safe and sustainable solution for quality cultivation

Coffee, one of the most highly valued commodities in Brazil and the world, has recorded its highest price in almost 50 years on the international commodities markets. At the beginning of the month, the value of Arabica coffee rose by 5.5% on the New York stock exchange, reaching US$ 3.44 per pound. On the Brazilian domestic market, the 60kg bag is trading at just over BRL 2,236.00, or approximately US$365.00, according to the Cepea/Esalq indicator.

 

“In a scenario where the value of the product is on the rise, it is even more crucial that producers adopt efficient practices to guarantee a quality crop without significant losses. One of the biggest enemies of coffee productivity is the coffee berry borer (Hypothenemus hampei), a pest that can cause irreparable damage to the beans and directly impact harvest yields,” says Bruno Arroyo, agronomist and Strategic Marketing Manager at Agrobiológica Sustentabilidade, a company belonging to the Crop Care holding.

 

The life cycle of the coffee berry borer covers the egg, larva, pupa and adult stages, ranging from 21 to 63 days, depending on environmental conditions, with up to seven generations per year. The adult female pierces the fruit, preferably in the crown area, and digs a gallery towards the seeds, where she lays her eggs. The insect looks for the fruit when it is forming and the perforation becomes a gateway for diseases. This causes the coffee to lose weight and value, causing serious losses for the producer.

 

According to Embrapa and the CNA (Confederation of Agriculture and Livestock of Brazil), losses due to the loss of fruit weight can reach 20% (12kg per 60kg bag of processed coffee). In addition, the amount of sprouted and broken fruit has a direct impact on the classification of the beans at the time of sale, since exporting companies accept a maximum of 10% sprouted beans.

 

Arroyo points out that in order to protect production and minimize the damage caused by the coffee berry borer, it is essential to carry out a proper harvest, avoid unharvested crops or plots, monitor the pest population during the transit and harvest seasons, and adopt physical, biological and chemical controls.

 

“In the past, producers made extensive use of endosulfan to control pests in crops. However, this pesticide was banned due to its negative impacts on both the environment and human health. As a result, farmers began to look for more efficient management alternatives, although they were often faced with effective but expensive chemical tools. In this scenario, biological insecticides have emerged as an affordable and, at the same time, safer and more sustainable solution for control,” says the expert.

 

The recommended strategy for efficient borer management is a biological insecticide based on the fungus Beauveria bassiana, which guarantees pest control of over 70%.  The advantages of biological control include the fact that this type of method prevents pest resistance, facilitating integrated management, as well as contributing to sustainability in the production of quality coffee, which can add even more value to coffee managed with biological pesticides due to demand from the foreign market and the implementation of seals and certifications.

 

“This insecticide should be applied between 80 and 90 days after the main flowering, spraying the fruit. The fungus in question has a stage of development called conidia, which has the main function of spreading it and starting the infection. When an insect, such as the coffee berry borer, comes into contact with these conidia, they stick to its surface. From there, the conidia germinate, invading the insect’s body and starting the elimination process. Later, in order to reproduce, the fungus colonizes the insect’s body and produces large quantities of conidia, which will be responsible for spreading, completing the cycle and helping to control the pest for a longer period of time,” Arroyo concludes.

 

About Crop Care

Crop Care is a Brazilian holding company that operates in the chemical, biological and specialty fertilizer input market. Among Crop Care’s companies are Agrobiológica Sustentabilidade, an innovative platform for biological and on-farm solutions; Perterra and K2, which have an extensive portfolio of post-patent agrochemicals; Union Agro, one of the leaders in specialty fertilizers; and Cromo Química, which specializes in the production of high-performance adjuvants and enhancers for agriculture. Through partnerships with distributors and cooperatives, and direct access to agricultural companies, Crop Care is present in the major producing regions of Latin America. For more information, visit the website.

 

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