Dates: September 1997 - August 1999

Funding: DFID Crop Protection Programme (£40K)

Countries: India

Collaborators: Coffee Board of India; Central Coffee Research Institute

NRI Project Leaders: David Hall

© University of Greenwich

Background

Coffee white stemborer, Xylotrechus quadripes (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) is the most serious insect pest of arabica coffee in India, Sri Lanka, China and Vietnam. In India coffee is grown on 3000,000ha, 90% on smallholdings of less than 4ha, particularly in remote hillside areas Coffee cultivation provides livelihoods for >400,000 people as well as employment for many others in processing and trade. Furthermore coffee and the associated shade trees make a major contribution to maintaining ecological balance in poor hillsides, preventing erosion and encouraging biodiversity. Control of coffee white stemborer currently relies on maintenance of shade (but this reduces yield), application of BHC to the trunk (but this is now banned for agricultural use), and/or removal of loose bark and collar pruning (although this is generally impractical).

© University of Greenwich

Results

Indian collaborators previously showed female X. quadripes beetles were attracted to traps baited with male beetles. Production of a pheromone by males which attracts females was confirmed in a laboratory bioassay. Volatiles were collected from male beetles, and linked GC-EAG analysis showed three biologically-active components. These were identified as (S)-2-hydroxy-3-decanone (I), 3-hydroxy-2-decanone (II) and (S,S)-2,3-dihydroxyoctane (III). Compound (I) was shown to be as attractive to female X. quadripes beetles as male beeltes in laboratory and field bioassays. Addition of (III) seemed to recude attractiveness. A convenient route for production of (I) from ethyl lactate was developed, as were controlled release dispensers for the pheromone which lasted for over 2 months under field conditions, and a locally-made trap.

Uptake

The pheromone traps are being evaluated for control of coffee white stemborer in India and China. It is planned to expand this work in a project on IPM of coffee stemborers funded by the Common Fund for Commodities. As part of this project, pheromones of African species of coffee stemborers will be investigated in Malawi and Zimbabwe.

Publications

Hall, D.R., Cork, A., Phythian, S., Sumathi, Ch., Jayarama, Venkatesha, M.G., Violet D’Souza, M. & Naidu, R. (1998) Studies on the male sex pheromone of the coffee white stemborer, Xylotrechus quadripes Chevrolat (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae). Proceedings of 2nd International Conference on Semiochemicals, Wageningen.
Hall, D.R., Cork, A., Phythian, S.J., Chittamuru, S,. Jayarama, Venkatesha, M.G., Sreedharan, K., Seetharama, H.G., Vinod Kumar, P.K. and Naidu, R. (2006). Identification of components of male-produced pheromone of coffee white stemborer, Xylotrechus quadripes Chevrolat (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae). Journal of Chemical Ecology, 32(1): 213-237.

Other Chemical Ecology pages...

> Publications
> Staff
> Expertise
> Postgraduates
> Projects