Pesticide Risk Reduction in Coffee: Analysis of Survey Results and Training on Pesticide Use Safety and Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

Wanda I. Almodóvar-Caraballo, M.S.
Extension Plant Pathologist and IPM Coordinator
University of Puerto Rico, Agricultural Extension Service
PO Box 9031 Mayagüez, P. R. 00681
(787) 833-7007; (787) 832-4040 ext. 3501
(787) 834-4590 - fax
w_almodovar@seam.upr.clu.edu

Project Duration: Two years

Total Budget Request	Request	Matching Funds (Not Required)
		Non-Federal	Federal
First Year Funding	14,100	10,224	0
Second Year Funding	25,900	10,684	0
Total Funding Request	40,000	20,908	0

Executive Summary

Coffee (Coffea arabica L.) is the most important crop in Puerto Rico. There are about 10,622 coffee growers distributed mainly in the west central part of the Island. For 1998-99, the coffee production was 130,500 quintals (qq) with an average farm price of $232.18 qq and a total gross income value of $30.3 million (AES, 1999; OAS, 1999). On the Island, coffee is intensively managed, with extensive use of fertilizers and pesticides that cost the grower money, destroy beneficial arthropods, and needlessly increase the quantity of pesticides in the environment thereby creating a serious potential threat for the pollution of water sources (Cotte, O. and A. Alvarado, 2000; Monroig-Inglés M., 2000, Monroig-Inglés M., 2001). The purpose of this project is to gather islandwide information and data related to current patterns of pesticide use, pesticide use safety, and the integrated pest management (IPM) knowledge of growers, agronomists, county agents, pesticide users, and personnel of pesticide dealers. The PR Agricultural Extension Service plans to conduct two different surveys: one designed for coffee growers and one for agronomists, county agents, pesticide users, and personnel of pesticide dealers. The surveys will be prepared and delivered to the appropriate people by the project Coordinator, the entomology specialist, and the agricultural agent in charge of pesticide education. This project will compile the information obtained through the surveys, available literature, and valuable knowledge obtained from growers and agricultural professionals to develop an appropriate educational program and a manual for IPM on coffee. The manual will be presented to the intended users in the training sessions that will be conducted as part of the knowledge acquisition process.

Objectives

To acquire data about local patterns of pesticide use, procedures for pesticide use safety, and knowledge of IPM.
To prepare an IPM manual for coffee.
To establish an educational program to expedite the implementation of pesticide use safety and key IPM measures in the production of coffee.

Justification

To acquire data about local patterns of pesticide use, procedures for pesticide use safety, and knowledge of IPM. The risks for both human and animal health associated with the indiscriminate use and inadequate management of pesticides and their potential for environmental pollution are placing increased pressure on the island´s agricultural production system to provide accurate, reliable data about pesticide use. IPM systems can help to restore the environment while providing alternatives for more effective pest control to improve the quality of food produced locally. By the use of surveys, detailed and quantitative information can be obtained that reflects actual pesticide use patterns and other pest management practices utilized by island growers, so it will be easier to document the benefits derived from IPM when it is adopted. There is no direct short-term environmental impact when this type of procedure is used. The impact is to obtain greater understanding of current pest management strategies in coffee production so that they can be used to guide future research and educational efforts.

To prepare an IPM manual for coffee. This can be done by producing an illustrated manual on key IPM practices for coffee. The core of the manual will be generic enough so that it can be used as the basis for the preparation of modules for other crops. The manual will be a compilation of the information obtained through the surveys, available literature, and valuable knowledge obtained from growers and agricultural professionals. The availability of existent coffee IPM information in a publication will encourage growers, agronomists, and other agricultural professionals to adopt existing IPM technology and make more appropriate decisions when handling pest problems.

To establish an educational program to expedite the implementation of pesticide use safety and key IPM measures in the production of coffee. To accomplish this objective a training program can be conducted that will lead to increased awareness of the risks of pesticide use among coffee growers, agronomists, county agents, pesticide users, and personnel of pesticide dealers. Coffee growers will be able to increase their use of on-farm IPM practices. The expected results are accurate identification and early detection of pests, application of pesticides based upon rational assessment of need, appropriate selection of pesticides for improved control, reduced human health hazards, reduced unnecessary pesticide use, reduced costs of control practices, and reduced environmental and human health impacts of pesticides applied unnecessarily by modifying the quantity or toxicity of pesticides used.

Literature Review

It is important to protect our environment and reduce risks associated with pesticide use. The most important means to accomplish these objectives are to encourage pesticide use safety and to implement an effective IPM program. The Puerto Rico Agricultural Extension Service estimates that approximately 176,000 acres, half of the total cultivated land of Puerto Rico, is under pesticide use at the present time (OAS, 1999).

Coffee (Coffea arabica L.) is the predominant crop in Puerto Rico. There are about 10,622 coffee growers distributed mainly along the west central part of the Island. The coffee crop suffers from damage by several pests. The most important are the weeds, coffee rust caused by the fungus Hemileia vastarix, nematodes, and the coffee leaf miner (Leucoptera coffeella), an insect which is the most serious coffee pest. The coffee leaf miner causes a 50 % reduction in the photosynthetic activity of the plant, marked weight loss of trunks, branches, and roots, and a 40% reduction in yield. The use of good cultural and postharvest control practices, like proper pruning and fertilization and regulation of shade reduces damage caused by this insect (Cotte, O., and A. Alvarado, 2000; Monroig-Inglés, M., 2001). Chemical control is achieved by annual applications of the granular insecticide disulfuton. The topographic conditions of the coffee region (60% slope or more) make the application of granular insecticides difficult and pose a risk of runoff of such chemicals into water bodies used for human consumption. Also, there are other crops that are cultivated in the coffee region, like citrus, plantains, and bananas, that can be exposed to indirect dosages of this insecticide. Therefore, a large plant population is potentially susceptible to pesticide pollution (Monroig-Inglés, M., 2001).

Coffee crop is intensively managed with extensive use of fertilizers and pesticides. Current pest control recommendations are to treat the plants on a regular basis. This practice can result in unnecessary applications of pesticides that cost the grower money, destroy beneficial arthropods, and needlessly increase the quantity of pesticides in the environment (AES, 1999; Cotte, O. and A. Alvarado, 2000; Monroig-Inglés, M., 2000).

Approach and Methods

The PR Agricultural Extension Service plans to conduct two surveys: one designed for coffee growers and one for agronomists, county agents, pesticide users and personnel of pesticide dealers. Specific data and indicators of the program´s impacts measured by the surveys will include coffee production acreage, number of pesticide treatments, rate of pesticide applications, number and kinds of pesticides used (specific formulation), percentage of growers using each pesticide, intended target organisms, percentage of growers following pesticide container disposal practices, cost of pesticide applications and overall pest management, alternative control measures used, number and percentage of growers following IPM practices such as scouting, biological controls or the use of beneficial organisms, and other specific practices.

The survey will be prepared and delivered to the field by the project coordinator, the entomology specialist, and the agricultural agent in charge of pesticide education with the collaboration of other Extension specialists, county agents, and personnel of the PR Department of Agriculture. Because of the extensive, detailed information to be collected, survey questionnaires will be filled out in personal interviews.

The IPM manual will be compiled from the information obtained through the surveys, available literature, and valuable knowledge obtained from the experience of growers, researchers, Extension personnel, and other agricultural professionals related to the coffee industry in Puerto Rico. The major collaborators on this project, as well as local growers, county agents, researchers, agronomists, and other agricultural professionals, will participate as experts. Knowledge will be acquired from the experts through interviews, group discussions, and other appropriate problem-solving techniques that will permit the experts to arrive at a consensus to create the knowledge base necessary to produce the manual. The manual will contain the following information related to coffee pest management: biology and ecology of the key arthropod pests, major pests, diseases, weeds, natural enemies, pest identification keys, field scouting procedures, IPM practices, and color photographs, and illustrations.

The educational program is going to be made available to growers, agronomists, county agents, pesticide users, and personnel of pesticide dealers through training sessions. The training sessions will go over the information covered in the IPM manual and any areas needing additional coverage as detected by the surveys. The coffee IPM manual will be presented to the intended users in the training sessions. The knowledge dissemination will be made by the project coordinator, the entomology specialist, and the agricultural agent in charge of pesticide education. The distribution of the manuals will be done with the collaboration of the Extension Educational Aids and Publications Office. Twelve months after the training sessions a follow up survey will be delivered to the participants to assess the usefulness of the materials and the adoption of IPM practices. The county agents and the agronomists of the Department of Agriculture will evaluate the changes in IPM practices of farmers through farm visits.

Impact Assessment

The expected outcome of the survey and the training program will be an increase in the awareness of the risks of pesticide use among coffee growers, agronomists, county agents, pesticide users, and personnel of pesticide dealers. To become aware of real and perceived risks of pesticide use upon the environment and human health will result in more judicious pesticide use decisions and an increase in the level of on-farm adoption of IPM practices, which will ultimately lessen any adverse impacts on the environment. An understanding of current pest management strategies in coffee production will be used to guide future research and educational efforts .

Progress toward achieving the objectives of the program will be tracked by the changes in knowledge and skills of the persons for whom it was intended. The outcome of the program will be measured by farm visits and a follow-up survey that will be delivered to the trainees twelve months after the educational program is over. The follow-up survey will be used to determine IPM knowledge, skills and changes in their pest management practices. The county agents and the agronomists of the Department of Agriculture will evaluate the changes in IPM practices of farmers through farm visits.

Meetings will be held to evaluate the project's progress. Reports will be prepared and submitted as required.

Appendix A. Literature Cited

Agricultural Experiment Station (AES). 1999. Technological Package for the Production of Coffee. Publ. No. 104. College of Agricultural Sciences, University of Puerto Rico. Mayagüez, PR, 29 pp.

Cotte, Osvaldo and Ada Alvarado. 2000. Pest Management Profile for Coffee in Puerto Rico. National Pesticide Impact Assessment Program. Agricultural Extension Service, College of Agricultural Sciences. University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus, Mayagüez, PR, 11 pp.

Monroig-Inglés, Miguel F. 2001. Actual Situation and Perspectives of the Plant and Animal Sectors: Natural Resources. First Puertorican Plant and Animal Health Congress. Puerto Rico College of Agronomists, Ponce, Puerto Rico, 5 pp.

Monroig-Inglés, Miguel F. 2000. "Manual para una caficultura sostenible en Puerto Rico". Agricultural Extension Service, College of Agricultural Sciences. University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus, Mayagüez, PR, 57 pp.

Office of Agricultural Statistics (OAS). 1999. Gross Farm Income of Puertorican Agriculture; 1997-98. Puerto Rico Department of Agriculture, San Juan, PR pp. 20-21.

Appendix B. Timetable

This project will be conducted in two years. It will begin in October, 2001, and finish in September, 2003. The schedule to complete the training sessions and produce the educational materials is as follows:

October 2001 to November 2001	Develop the surveys
December, 2001 to February, 2002	Administer the surveys
March, 2002 to May, 2002	Analyze the survey results
June, 2002 to July, 2002	Prepare a report on survey results
March, 2002 to July, 2002	Hold meetings and coordinate the compiling of information for the IPM Manual.
May, 2002 to November, 2002	Write and review and produce the illustrations for the manual
December, 2002 to February, 2003	Publish the Coffee IPM Manual
March, 2003 to September 2003	Hold training sessions
September, 2004	Assess the usefulness of educational materials and the adoption of IPM practices

Appendix C. Major Participants

Project coordinator

Wanda I. Almodóvar-Caraballo, MS., Extension Plant Pathologist

Support Staff

Hipólito O´Farrill-Nieves, PhD., Extension Entomologist
Ada Alvarado, MS, Agricultural Agent in charge of Pesticide Education

Collaborators

Rocío Rodríguez, PhD, Coffee Pathologist
Miguel Monroig, MS, Coffee Specialist
Wigmar González, Coffee Commodity Leader
Noel Torres, County Agent
Manuel Cordero, County Agent
Alberto Rullán, County Agent
Efraín Jiménez, County Agent
Pedro Bengochea, Grower
José Huerta, PhD, Extension Evaluation Specialist

Appendix D. Project Budget

Year 1 Funds
Budget Category	AES	Grant Funding	Other Funding	Total Funding
Personnel	8,233	6,200		9,670
Fringe Benefits	1,991	1,900		2,870
Travel		2,500		2,500
Equipment		2,500		2,500
Supplies		1,000		1,000
Contractual
Other (detail)
Total	10,224	14,100	0	24,324

Year 2 Funds
Budget Category	AES	Grant Funding	Other Funding	Total Funding
Personnel	8,603	6,400		9,670
Fringe Benefits	2,081	2,000		2,870
Travel		2,000		2,500
Equipment				2,500
Supplies		500		1,000
Contractual
Other (detail)
Total	10,684	15,000	0	36,584