The president of the Agriculture Commission of the Lower House of Puerto Rico, Alfredo Rivera, described this Friday as "another problem" the discovery of a fungus that affects coffee plantations and rotting coffee beans on the island.
Rivera reacted in this way after the local newspaper "The new day" will publish this Friday a report on the discovery of the Colletotrichum fungus, which is affecting coffee beans, producing anthracnose, rotting the beans in the Jayuya, Adjuntas, Utuado and Lares coffee plantations, among others.
"This is another problem that affects the industry, because in addition to damaging the ripe fruit and the branches of the coffee tree, this new version of the fungus generates the rotting of the seed when it is green."Rivera explained in a press release.
Given this, the representative met with the Commission team, led by agronomist Ernesto Irizarry, to establish contacts at the level of the federal Department of Agriculture to see what options are available to address the issue.
For her part, Wanda Almodóvar, an expert in phytopathology (study of plant diseases), told the newspaper that the fungus not only affects the ripe fruit of coffee and the branches of the tree, but that its new version also causes the rotting of the seed since it is in its green (growing) stage.
Almodóvar noted that Colletotrichum is often confused with Fusarium xylarioides, a fungus from Africa.
However, Colletotrichum, which causes anthracnose, burns the leaves, stems and branches of the coffee tree, and, in addition, rots the grain of the fruit, while fusarium xylarioides only wilts the leaves of the plant.
"The situation we have is that the Department of Agriculture here in Puerto Rico had a pest control program, but it was eliminated many years ago.", lament.
That project, Rivera explained, offered farmers low-cost equipment to be able to fumigate the farms, but that program was eliminated many years ago.
"Definitely in this Agriculture Commission we are going to work on options together with the local and federal Department of Agriculture", he assured.
It is estimated that the coffee industry produces just over 100 million dollars with 240,000 quintals of coffee collected, in a normal period.
However, since the passage of Hurricane MarÃa in September 2017, what is estimated for this year would be 50,000 quintals of coffee beans, which would be equivalent to 20 million dollars, 80% less than what was done before.
"Although we are going through hard times, and I say this with knowledge of the cause because I grew up and live in the coffee growing area of ​​the mountain, in Puerto Rico, we have been growing coffee for more than 280 years"Rivera said.
"With all the ups and downs, coffee production goes beyond business, which is paramount, but it is also part of our history and cultural identity."added.
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