Assessment of coffee berry borer, <i>Hypothenemus hampei</i> Ferrari (Coleoptera, Curculionidae) using locally made baiting trap in major coffee producing areas of Ethiopia

Abstract

Coffee represents the major source of revenue for foreign exchange and income source for households of large number of families in Ethiopia. However, coffee is facing a great challenge by coffee berry borer (CBB) [Hypothenemus hampei Ferrari (Coleoptera, Curculionidae)]. The attention given to control this insect-pest is very low compared with other African countries. Controlling the coffee berry borer using conventional chemical method is difficult due to its cryptic nature in its life cycle. Mass trapping of the insect using baiting trap method is the most promising and relevant one. This study were conducted in selected and representative coffee producing areas of Tepi, Limu Goma and Mizan-Aman. A total of 32 red color local baiting trap was prepared and lured with Ethanol:Methanol (E:M) mixture (1:1, 1:2, 1:3 and control) and releasing rate of 509.9 ± 0.06, 577.3 ± 0.02 and 580.3 ± 0.02 mg day-1, respectively. Traps were attached to wood stakes branches in a completely randomized block design (CRBD), 12 m within the raw, 15 m between blocks and 1.20 m from the ground. The efficiency of the attractant (E:M) mixtures at Tepi-Baya II, Jimma zone (Limu-Goma II) and Mizan-Aman showed no significant difference, but all were significantly different from the control (p<0.001). The percentage of captured CBB with E:M (1:1, 1:2 and 1:3) were 427 (93%), 413 (98.6%) and 416 (95.2%) at Tepi-Baya II; 97 (89%), 115 (100%) and 90 (93.8%) at Limu-Goma II, and 137 (86.7%), 122 (97.6%) and 98 (94.2%) at Mizan-Aman, respectively. Non-target coffee berry borer (NCBB) were not preferably attracted by 1:1 and 1:3 than 1:2 E:M mixture across the localities. None of the controls captured the NCBB beetles at any of the localities. The study indicated that this trap can be used in different localities for trapping of the female CBB as a tool to reduce the population level of CBB.