Importance of Breakthrough
Coffee leaf rust disease has decimated coffee production in Latin America since 2011. Its recent spread to Hawaii threatens the livelihoods of almost 1,500 coffee farmers in Hawaii. With FFAR funding, the Synergistic Hawaii Agriculture Council investigated the devastating disease and developed mitigation tactics.
Details about this breakthrough
Researchers, led by Dr. Catherine Aime, quickly surveyed coffee farms across Hawaii, gathering information about the severity of the disease and what conditions are favorable to its spread. The research team developed a real-time diagnostic tool that farmers and others used to rapidly detect coffee leaf rust on-farm. The team used genomic tools to identify the exact variant of coffee leaf rust, a necessary first step in developing a targeted response that included resistant coffee varieties. The team also tested different fungicides for efficacy and partnered with extension staff to optimize sanitation protocols and disseminate them to farmers, helping to reduce coffee leaf rust’s spread.
University of Hawaii extension workers and faculty shared the information and research results generated through this FFAR grant with farmers through 83 “farm doctor” visits and 66 industry and stakeholder events. This outreach provided Hawaii’s coffee growers with the most up-to-date disease control measures. USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture subsequently awarded the research team a Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) grant to continue this important work.