Coffee rust the damage

We have reported before on the devastating coffee rust disease which can hit coffee plantations hard.

However, of late, Central America has suffered terribly from this outbreak.

How bad is it and how much damage has been done?

Over 70 percent of the coffee plants in some Central American countries, such as Guatemala and El Salvador, have been affected by coffee rust.

Other countries in the area have been affected too, such as an estimated 64 percent of coffee plants in Costa Rica and also plants in Honduras and Nicaragua.

What is coffee rust?

It affects coffee leaves and is a fungus. It is often found on the underside of the leaf and sucks the sap from the plants which can ultimately kill then.

It is not a new problem: it is thought to have been around for quite some time, but until recently, tended to affect plants at 3,000 feet or below.

Now coffee rust has spread its tentacles wider and higher to 5,000 feet.

The spread of the disease may be a result of climate change.

So can’t something be done about it?

In the past, fungicides were developed to control the fungus.

However, this time around, experts have said there is a difference in the fungus.

And the damage?

The International Coffee Organisation has disclosed alarming figures about the extent of coffee rust.

In the past season, October to March, regional production was down 17.1 percent and it has been suggested that this figure will fall 30-40 percent in the present season.

And the solution?

Farmers are spraying their plants ‘aggressively’ and, if pushed, are pruning their plants severely too.

This could set their plants back three years before they are productive again.

Things are pretty desperate.

Governments are intervening to help we hope that more solutions are found quickly.