Searching for a Coffee variety with antibiosis effect to Hypothenemus hampei Ferrari (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

Hypothenemus hampei Ferrari, commonly known as the coffee berry borer (CBB), causes the greatest economic losses to coffee crops worldwide. Five lines of the registered coffee variety Castillo with resistance to coffee leaf rust (CX.2710, CX.2178, CX.2848, CX.2391, CU.1812) were crossed with three Ethiopian introductions (CCC534, CCC470, CCC477) presenting an antibiosis effect against the CBB. The F1 hybrids were advanced to the F2 generation, and the number of CBB stages in 714 plants was evaluated in both field and controlled conditions. Results indicated that under controlled conditions only 68 F2 plants presented a significantly lower average number of stages (18.67–37.7%) regarding susceptible controls. In the field, the lower average of CBB stages of the 68 F2 plants was also confirmed, ranging between 29.05 and 73.10%. Study results demonstrated the presence of antibiosis in F2 plants due to low reproductive fitness of CBB. The distribution of the percentage of CBB stages on F2 plants in relation to susceptible controls was found to have a normal distribution, indicating a segregation that is typical of a quantitative trait involving several genes. Populations will be advanced and selected until a coffee variety presenting antibiosis against CBB and desirable agronomic characteristics is obtained. These new plants would be used in coffee-growing areas highly vulnerable to CBB in Colombia as a component of an integrated pest management (IPM) strategy.