Coffee Berry Borer Resistance in Coffee Genotypes

The aim of this study was to evaluate the coffee germplasm of the Paraná Agronomic Institute (IAPAR) for resistance to the coffee-berry-borer. Preliminary field evaluation was performed in August 2004 and the fruits of less damaged genotypes in the field were evaluated under controlled condition with obligated and free choice experiments established in a randomized complete design with three replications. The genotypes were evaluated fifteen days after infestation with one borer per fruit in Petri dishes. The data were analyzed by the Scott-Knott means test at 1 % and by the χ test. Statistical analysis indicated that Coffea kapakata, Psilanthus bengalensis, C. eugenioides and genotypes with C. eugenioides genes were resistant. These genotypes presented low frequency of bored grains. C. eugenioides and C. kapakata could present resistance at epicarp level but not in the grain. P. bengalensis could present resistance also in the grains. Key-words: Breeding, Coffea, cultivars, Hypothenemus hampei, Psilanthus * Author for correspondence: [email protected] INTRODUCTION The coffee berry borer, Hypothenemus hampei (Ferrari) was accidentally introduced to Brazil (Oliveira-Filho, 1927) and has been considered one of the most important coffee pests worldwide. Matiello et al. (2002) reported that this insect was the second pest in importance for arabica coffee (Coffea arabica L.) plantations in Brazil. However, it is the main pest for robusta coffee (C. canephora Pierre). The adult form of H. hampei is a small beetle with dark and shiny color. The males possess the same morphological characters as the females, but are smaller with rudimentary wings, and therefore, they do not fly and never leave the fruits. Each male mates, approximately, with ten females inside the fruit. The fertilized female bores the fruit in the disc region, making a gallery through the pulp and after that it bores the seeds (grains), and inside lays the eggs. After hatching, the larvae feed on the seeds, destroying them totally or partially. The reproduction of this insect is higher in high humid environments (Lima et al., 2003). The direct damage in the yield is the fall of young fruits attacked by the coffee berry borer, destruction of the bored beans that break during hulling, resulting in the reduction of commercial grains. The indirect damage is the bored beans causing the depreciation of the coffee quality (Batista, 1986). Although there are many studies on chemical, biological and cultural control, coffee breeding for this pest has not been studied due to lack of resistance sources in the Coffea genus and related species. Le Chevalier (1947 cited by Le Pelley,