CBB. No this isn’t the latest text acronym. The Coffee Borer
Beetle is a small pesky pest that is wreaking havoc on coffee crops all over
Kona, HI. The beetle has been drilling itself into coffee cherries all over the
world for a long time and made its way to Hawaii in 2010. The beetle has affected
every coffee farmer in Kona, destroying a percentage of their crop resulting in higher coffee prices.
Eric and I have officially engaged the CBB in combat. Our
combat vehicle consists of a John Deere Gator (I'm giving the Gator another shot) loaded with a pressure washer
that sprays an organic fungus concoction from a 50-gallon drum (see photo below). Eric and I have been
spraying every tree on the farm (3,200 to be exact) with the fungus that
hopefully will kill the CBB and prevent it from laying larvae. If all goes to
plan, our part of the battle will be over by lunchtime tomorrow.
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| "CBB Combat Vehicle" 11/26/2012 |
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| "Good Coffee Cherry" 9/14/2012 |
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| "Cherry with CBB" 9/14/2012 |
Sounds similar to the Emerald Ash Borer. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Luke! So far so good!
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