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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted on: Friday, September 27, 2002

Insect infestation ravages macadamia nut crops

By Beverly Creamer
Advertiser Staff Writer

The Big Island's $150 million macadamia nut industry is suffering dramatic early losses in the first months of harvest because of an increasing infestation of southern green stink bugs fueled by a humid, rainy summer.

Agriculture officials are estimating losses as high as one-third of some of the crops at this point, with some farmers suffering a 10 percent to 20 percent loss and others declaring losses of 50 percent to 90 percent. The loss estimates are triple anything seen in the past.

While the losses may affect consumer prices of macadamia nuts in the long run, prices through Christmas are expected to remain stable, according to one of the state's largest processors.

"Eventually prices will go up," said Mac Farms' president Rick Vidgen. "Prices are going up worldwide, and there was a short crop in Australia. But I hope we'll hold prices (stable) for the Hawai'i consumer."

In Kohala, Jim Trump's Island Harvest farm management company has laid off 45 workers and declared the 820-acre crop a total loss. Trump said he may have to declare bankruptcy if he can't get crop insurance or other government help.

"We figure a loss of 1.5 million pounds at 55 cents a pound, so about $825,000," Trump said. "We hope we're able to get through the crisis and clean up the orchards and start again next year. It depends if we can get some assistance and get back on our feet."

According to research entomologist Peter Follett, with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Research Center on the Big Island, Trump's operation was hit hard because of its size and an overgrowth of weeds that harbor the bugs.

"One of the main problems is we don't have a good means of controlling the stink bug population," Follett said. "We don't have a good lure or a good trap. For others we have traps, but nothing for stink bugs yet."

Vidgen blamed some of the problems on cutbacks in the numbers of research entomologists at the University of Hawai'i over the past few years, an issue he said is being addressed by UH President Evan Dobelle with a new federal grant and an increase in personnel.

The macadamia nut losses have primarily been in Kohala, North and South Kona, and Ka'u, where heat and moisture have made weeds and grasses thrive along with the stink bugs. Growers in the Hilo area appear to have escaped any increase in damage.

"They feed on weedlike legumes," said University of Hawai'i-Manoa horticulturist Mike Nagao, who is stationed in Hilo and has been studying the pest. "It's possible if the weeds were abundant and then started to die off and lose their pods, the bugs would move on to macadamia trees."

While the bugs feed on the nuts by sticking a long, needlelike mouth through the hard shell, they don't lay eggs inside or give any sign they've been there. That's why it was virtually impossible to know of the damage until the harvest began in late summer. The harvest will continue into the early spring, but growers won't know the full impact of the pest for another four to six weeks.

While the bugs have been in Hawai'i since the 1960s, this is the first time the damage levels have hit 10 percent to 20 percent on some of the farms, and up to 50 percent and more on others.

According to the Hawai'i Agricultural Statistics Service, 1.4 million pounds of macadamia nuts worth about $800,000 were lost because of stink bugs last year, with 1.7 million pounds worth about

$1 million lost the year before. Macadamia nuts earn about $3,000 per acre, depending on the price, which ranges around 60 cents per pound to farmers.

At Mac Farms of Hawai'i, which processes nuts from its own 3,800 acres, plus the crops of about 400 farmers from all over the Big Island, the damage has been running 10 percent to 30 percent, depending on a farm's location.

"At least half of our suppliers are experiencing a fairly major problem," said Mac Farms orchard manager Hilary Brown. "If you're seeing damage in excess of 10 percent, that's a pretty major loss."

The damage is also affected by orchard elevation levels, Brown said. "Insects prefer warmer temperatures, so if your mac orchard is located below 1,500 feet you're going to be worse affected than those at higher elevations."

The situation is also complicated by the number of natural predators, such as ants and a small introduced wasp, which may have fallen in recent months, said Nagao. "It's possible these insects aren't multiplying fast enough to suppress the stink bug population," he said.

Nagao is suggesting that some natural predators be grown in indoor settings and released into the wild to control the stink bugs. UH recently won a $50,000 federal grant to monitor the bug infestation and determine the best way to use natural predators.

Reach Beverly Creamer at bcreamer@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8013.