The world drinks 1.6 billion cups of coffee each day (Fiegl 2012). People pick it up on their way to work and class. It has helped college students survive many all-nighters. It provides an avenue for old friends to catch up, as well as for new relationships to form. Coffee is worth over $100 billion worldwide, which means it is even more valuable than commodities such as gold, oil, corn, and sugar. Coffee is grown in over 50 countries worldwide, and the America 's make up 67% of all coffee grown around the world (Goldschein 2011). One of these vigorous coffee growing countries is Colombia, particularly in the Department of Cauca where smaller scale coffee farms are abundant. However, growing coffee is not an easy task. It requires land, capital, labor, and patience. There are a multitude of constraints to coffee production in Cauca, Colombia, but one stands out in particular: Hemileia vastarix, or coffee rust. Once coffee rust hits, it can completely decimate entire coffee farms and ruin coffee production not only during the current year, but in the next growing season as well. We all value our quick, cheap cup of coffee on the run. What would happen if coffee production stalled, and prices rose? Very few of us are wiling to pay the real price of our food and beverages. Not only does coffee rust cause the price of coffee to skyrocket due to stunted production, but it also has devastating effects on the farmers that grow it. Colombia is one of the top producers of coffee in the world, and we depend on it for our daily caffeine fix. Coffee rust is a deadly trap that growers can fall into, which not only threatens their livelihood, but our ability to stay awake in the morning. Coffee Rust Coffee is subject to attack from a number of threats including insect pests, diseases, weeds, and invertebrates.
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One of the most harmful of these threats is the disease coffee rust. Two pathogens exist but only one of them is present in all coffee growing regions around the world: Hemileia vastarix. Contrary to popular belief, coffee rust can attack both Coffea arabica (Arabica coffee) and Coffea canephora (Robusta coffee). Outside of the genus Coffea, no alternative hosts for coffee rust have been found. These two coffee varieties are the most important and profitable varieties of coffee on the market. In the mountainous regions of the Valley of Cauca, Arabica coffee is an extremely important crop. Coffee rust is by some, considered to be the most economically significant coffee disease in the world. Additionally, coffee has been named one of the most important agricultural products on the international trade market (Arneson 2000). The first symptoms of coffee rust appear as small yellow spots that resemble pollen on the upper surface of the leaves. These small yellow spots eventually grow and the under side of the leaf then becomes infection with orange urediniospores. Most other rusts break through the epidermis of the leaf to infect it, whereas this fungus sporulates through the stomata instead. The lesions first appear early on in the season on the lower leaves, and infection slowly progresses up the tree. Infected leaves drop prematurely, which reduces the photosynthetic capacity of the tree, thus weakening it. In some severe cases, branches are left completely bare and some trees may keel over and die. The process of infection requires the presence of free water or wind. The main mechanisms of dispersal is through splashing rain, while wind is responsible for spreading the disease across longer ranges of landscape. Movements across oceans, mountains, and countries are almost always facilitated by humans. Since urediniospores can only germinate in the presence of free water, dew, rain droplets, and humidity are essential in order for coffee rust to spread. Unsurprisingly, infection is most prevalent during the two peak rainy seasons. The optimal temperature for coffee rust to germinate and spread is at 22 degrees Celsius, but it can survive temperatures as low as 15 degrees Celsius and as high as 28 degrees Celsius. A single lesion can produce up to 300,000 spores in the span of 3-5 months depending on favorable conditions. Therefore, management as a continuous epidemic is key in order to reduce the instance
One of the most harmful of these threats is the disease coffee rust. Two pathogens exist but only one of them is present in all coffee growing regions around the world: Hemileia vastarix. Contrary to popular belief, coffee rust can attack both Coffea arabica (Arabica coffee) and Coffea canephora (Robusta coffee). Outside of the genus Coffea, no alternative hosts for coffee rust have been found. These two coffee varieties are the most important and profitable varieties of coffee on the market. In the mountainous regions of the Valley of Cauca, Arabica coffee is an extremely important crop. Coffee rust is by some, considered to be the most economically significant coffee disease in the world. Additionally, coffee has been named one of the most important agricultural products on the international trade market (Arneson 2000). The first symptoms of coffee rust appear as small yellow spots that resemble pollen on the upper surface of the leaves. These small yellow spots eventually grow and the under side of the leaf then becomes infection with orange urediniospores. Most other rusts break through the epidermis of the leaf to infect it, whereas this fungus sporulates through the stomata instead. The lesions first appear early on in the season on the lower leaves, and infection slowly progresses up the tree. Infected leaves drop prematurely, which reduces the photosynthetic capacity of the tree, thus weakening it. In some severe cases, branches are left completely bare and some trees may keel over and die. The process of infection requires the presence of free water or wind. The main mechanisms of dispersal is through splashing rain, while wind is responsible for spreading the disease across longer ranges of landscape. Movements across oceans, mountains, and countries are almost always facilitated by humans. Since urediniospores can only germinate in the presence of free water, dew, rain droplets, and humidity are essential in order for coffee rust to spread. Unsurprisingly, infection is most prevalent during the two peak rainy seasons. The optimal temperature for coffee rust to germinate and spread is at 22 degrees Celsius, but it can survive temperatures as low as 15 degrees Celsius and as high as 28 degrees Celsius. A single lesion can produce up to 300,000 spores in the span of 3-5 months depending on favorable conditions. Therefore, management as a continuous epidemic is key in order to reduce the instance