Coffee quarantine expands to Lanai and Oahu today

The Hawaii Board of Agriculture has expanded the coffee quarantine to include Lanai and Oahu over the threat of coffee leaf rust, a fungus threatening the state’s coffee industry.

A devastating coffee pathogen that was first discovered in Sri Lanka in 1869, coffee leaf rust can cause severe defoliation of coffee plants, greatly reducing their photosynthetic capacity and the growth of both vegetation and berries. Long-term impacts include dieback, which can impact the next year’s crop with estimated losses ranging from 30 to 80 percent.

Coffee leaf rust was first detected in the state in October on Maui and Hawaii island. Both islands were designated as coffee leaf rust-infested areas in November under a plant quarantine interim rule that restricted the movement of coffee plants, plant parts and other coffee leaf rust hosts from the impacted islands.

Coffee leaf rust was discovered on Lanai and Oahu in January. On Tuesday, the board approved the quarantine expansion that goes into effect today in hopes of preventing the spread to Molokai and Kauai.

The interim rule does not affect the movement of roasted coffee or the out-of-state export shipments of coffee plants and plant parts, green coffee beans, used coffee bags or other coffee leaf rust carriers, provided that they are exported directly from an area infected with the fungus and are not shipped through an uninfested area along the way. Interisland movement of regulated material that could host coffee leaf rust may be conducted under a permit from the state Department of Agriculture’s Plant Quarantine Branch.

Anyone who violates the rule is subject to a misdemeanor offense and may be fined up to $10,000. A second offense committed within five years of a prior conviction may result in a fine of up to $25,000.

For more information on the quarantine and permit requirements, contact the Plant Quarantine Branch at (808) 8320566.

Suspected coffee leaf rust infestations should be reported to the DOA’s Plant Pest Control Branch at (808) 973-9525.