Coffee Leaf Rust Webinar

Coffee Leaf Rust Webinar

Thursday, November 19, 2020

The HCA Coffee Leaf Rust Webinar is provided as a free resource for our association members and broader community. It is designed to provide important updates on the Coffee Leaf Rust disease recently discovered in Hawaii. For speaker bios follow the registration links below.

Webinar Sessions

9am-10:30am
Short Term Strategies
with Jacques Avelino of CIRAD* and Andrea Kawabata of University of Hawaii CTAHR

Jacques will discuss the biology of the causal agent of coffee leaf rust: the fungus Hemileia vastatrix and some epidemiological considerations. He will explain how meteorological variables, topography, coffee tree characteristics, natural enemies and management, particularly nutrition and shade, affect coffee rust development. This knowledge can be used to improve coffee rust management at farm and regional levels.

Andrea will provide updated information on approved fungicides for coffee in Hawai'i to help combat Coffee Leaf Rust, including application recommendations. She will also cover necessary general farm practices, hygiene, and sanitation protocols that producers should be implementing on their farms immediately to avoid spreading CLR.

*CIRAD is the French agricultural research and international cooperation organization working for the sustainable development of tropical and Mediterranean regions.

11:30am-1pm
Research, Resources & Regulation
with Kevin Hoffman of HDOA and Lisa Keith of USDA and PBARC

Kevin will provide an update to attendees on the most current information available to HDOA including new quarantine restrictions.

Lisa will focus on the pathology of coffee leaf rust in Hawaii, including what we know, what we don’t know, and short and long term research efforts to manage CLR in Hawaii.

IMPORTANT: Please ensure you are notifying all farm staff, including seasonal pickers who may work on multiple farms, of new sanitation protocol to mitigate the spread of this fungus. We also encourage you to share this webinar information with your farm staff.