Coffee Berry Moth, Prophantis smaragdina (Butler) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae): Another threat to Robusta coffee, Coffea canephora production in Uganda

Abstract

A structured questionnaire eliciting farmers’ knowledge of Coffee Berry Moth (CBM) was administered to 10 coffee farmers selected in the villages surrounding Kaweri. Additionally, 10 coffee trees were assessed for CBM infestation in farmers’ gardens and at Kaweri. Half of the farmers knew CBM and >50% of them first observed it on their coffee recently. However, 42.8% of them thought CBM causes no effect on coffee yields. Furthermore, 57.2% of them could identify the pest by the characteristic silk webs and the same percentage was aware that CBM causes more damage during the dry season. Majority (71.2%) of them did not know the effect of shade on its infestation while all of them were not aware of any alternative host for it. Lastly, only 14.2% of the farmers mentioned that they were managing CBM. At plot level, CBM was observed in all the Kaweri sections and farmers’ gardens assessed and the infestation was significantly (p≤0.05) higher at Kaweri than in farmers’ gardens. Infestation decreased significantly (p≤0.05) with increase in pruning and intercropping. The results showed that CBM is gaining economic importance as a pest of Robusta coffee in Uganda. However, limited farmers’ knowledge about its management, coupled with scanty literature, points to urgent need for research towards developing integrated management strategies for it.