Recolección de frutos después de la cosecha para reducir la infestación de la Broca del café hypothenemus hampei (Ferrari)¹ en Santiago de Cuba

The coffee berry borer, Hypothenemus hampei Ferrari (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae), is the primary pest of coffee plantations worldwide. Since its detection in Cuba in 1995, growers are facing financial losses of $48.2 million and damage by increasing annual cost of $21.4 million. The damage caused by this pest in coffee fruit from Coffea canephora Pierre ex A. Froehner (Order Gentianales, family Rubiaceae) plantations, cultivated in Cuba, was determined. The damage estimation was realized from January to February 2010 at six productive farms of 1 ha in the province of Santiago de Cuba. All stages of development of the insect were found in infected fruits, prevailing adults (35%) and larvae (33%), and an infestation index of 1.32 to 1.81 insects per plant. There were differences among the fields with different levels of borer infestation and correlation analysis (r = 0.87); this indicated there were relationships between the analyzed variables. In this study, fruit that remained on the tree after harvest and those remaining in the soil, constituted a risk of borer infestation. In total, 19,326 to 104,958 fruits were collected at the six sites after harvest and 35,986 to 134,446 insects per hectare.