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AUTHOR(S): Raymond Joseph Mahob, Laurent Baleba, Philippe Nwane, Serge Eteme Enama, Koga Mangdobara, Charles Félix Bilong Bilong, Rachid Hanna
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ABSTRACT The coffee berry borer (CBB), Hypothenemus hampei (Ferrari), is the most important insect pest of Robusta coffee worldwide. Much of the field knowledge on CBB ecology has been generated from low elevation geographies, but similar knowledge from highland geographies is scarce, particularly from Central Africa which considered the native home of CBB. Data from other countries or contrasting growing coffee area conditions and a comparative analysis between them would be useful to a better understanding of CBB bioecology. For this reason, we conducted natural field experiments to determine CBB infestation patterns in Robusta coffee plantations across elevation gradient. The experiments were conducted in 6 Robusta coffee plantations (700-1400 m.a.s.l.) in the western highlands of Cameroon; and observations were carried out on residual berries (RB) and new fruits (NF) randomly collected on the branches and/or ground. CBB infestations generally increased per coffee tree with increasing elevations, particularly in RB significantly higher values obtained at highest elevation fields at Banki (56.2 ± 10.47 individuals) compared with lower elevation fields at Mbile (38.6 ± 8.47) and Ntiengue (17.2 ± 6.07); the sex ratio was female-biased in the three study locations. Similarly, monthly relative frequency of infested NF per tree were numerically higher overall at Banki (12.6 ± 3.20%) followed by Mbile (10.6 ± 4.03%) and then Nteingue (8.1 ± 3.59%), but this difference was not statistically significant. In all locations, fruiting season CBB infestations increased with increasing fruits maturation – from young to mature fruits, with a steeply rapid rise during the last 2 months (January and February 2016) of fruits maturation. The findings reported in this study are discussed within the framework of integrated program for the management of CBB in Cameroon and similar agroecologies in Central Africa. |
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KEYWORDS Hypothenemus hampei, bio-ecology, Coffea canephora, residual berry infestations, new fruit infestations, Western highlands of Cameroon |
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Cite this paper Raymond Joseph Mahob, Laurent Baleba, Philippe Nwane, Serge Eteme Enama, Koga Mangdobara, Charles Félix Bilong Bilong, Rachid Hanna. (2022) Spatio-temporal Patterns in Coffee Berry Borer Infestations in Robusta Coffee Plantations Across an Elevation Gradient in Cameroon, Central Africa. International Journal of Agricultural Science, 7, 6-18 |
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