Chapter 15 - Microbial Control of Insect Pests of Tea and Coffee

Abstract

Tea (Camellia sinensis) and coffee (Coffea arabica) are the most consumed infusion beverages in the world. Each agroecosystem for their productions comes with a rich complex of insect and mite associates, most of which are not regarded as pests. However, a significant number of serious pests attack the leaves, roots, stems, and roots of each crop. The foliage of tea, the marketable part of the plant, is attacked by tortricid moths, hemipterans, and coleopterans. Although Bacillus thuringiensis is the most used microbial control agent of lepidopteran pests of tea, considerable research has been conducted on entomopathogenic viruses, mostly Baculoviruses, for their control and entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) as microbial control agents of hemipteran pests. Coffee plants are attacked by a broad range of insect and mite pests including coleopterans, lepidopterans, hemipterans, and mites. Among these, the coffee berry borer (CBB) is the most economically important pest of coffee worldwide. The EPF, Beauveria bassiana, has been used along with other interventions for its control in Colombia. Exploitation of the endophytic fungi associated with coffee as possible control agents of CBB is discussed.