By
YVONNE NGUTLICK of CIC
The name sounds quirky but Tanglefoot may
be the answer to coffee farmers’ woes against the coffee green scale pest.
Coffee green scales
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Tanglefoot is a jelly-like substance that
stops the movement of ants up and down
coffee trees.
It is non-poisonous to ants, other
organisms and humans.
Pasting Tanglefoot on the tree stump near
the base effectively prevents the ants from climbing up and down the tree accessing
aerial parts of the crop.
Applying tanglefoot to coffee tree stump to prevent ants climbing |
Coffee green
scales are currently the most-serious pest affecting the coffee industry in Papua New Guinea .
They are soft
scale insects.
They are
oval-shaped, flat and pale green in colour.
Green scales are
often associated with ants and ‘sooty mould’ fungus.
The ants and
fungus feed on the honeydew excreted by the scales.
The scales suck
the sap of mature and young coffee trees, reducing growth and eventually causing
the death of the tree.
The presence of ants
also provides protection for the scales from their natural enemies, like
ladybird beetles and parasitic wasps.
Trials conducted at the Coffee Industry Corporation
research station on using Tanglefoot in controlling green scales are encouraging.
The length of time to achieve complete
control is three months.
Control takes longer compared to recommended
conventional methods of spraying and pruning that provide fast knockdown
effect.
Tanglefoot, unlike conventional methods, poses
no risks to the natural coffee environment and promotes sustainable control of
the pest.
Following are important points to consider in
order to attain such level of control:
- Tanglefoot needs to be adequately applied around the stump with 10-15
cm width and layer thick enough to avoid quick drying; and
- Arial canopy of the tree must be independently stand-alone. This
means branches must not come in contact with branches of adjacent trees,
particularly the infested trees, to avoid ant access from these trees.
Tanglefoot
|
Manufactured in the United States of America , Tanglefoot
is not new in PNG, but new for the coffee industry.
In the 1930s, Tanglefoot was trialed on
coconut trees in Manus province to prevent coconut treehoppers. Climatological
conditions in that coastal island province deteriorated the use of Tanglefoot
but may prove otherwise for coffee, especially for farmers in the cooler Highlands provinces where green scales are rife.
Tanglefoot can be purchased from leading
agricultural suppliers.
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