HILO — Efforts to control an invasive insect that has caused significant damage to Hawaii Island’s macadamia crop are moving forward in the state Senate.
Senate Bill 2988 calls for funding additional research to study the ecology of macadamia felted coccid, as well as methods of control and elimination, cleared two Senate committees this week. Its companion bill in the House, HB 2596, is set to be heard today before the Committee on Agriculture.
The Senate bill calls for $700,000 to be appropriated to the state Department of Agriculture and the University of Hawaii’s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources.
“We need to continue our efforts,” John Cross, president of the Hawaii Macadamia Nut Association, said Tuesday. Cross also is land manager of the Edmund C. Olson Trust, which grows about 1,200 acres of macadamia trees on Hawaii Island.
A tiny insect native to Australia that affects only macadamia trees, the coccid was first discovered in a South Kona orchard in 2005. It is not known how it first arrived.
Since then, the insect has spread around the island. Macadamia felted coccid, though small, lives in colonies and causes dieback of branches and leaves.
“It’s especially harmful or devastating in the Ka‘u district, and it has killed trees, reduced yields,” Cross said. He said infestations most recently have been found in Keaau and the South Hilo district.
Macadamia nuts are one of the top five highest-grossing agricultural products in the state, with most farms on Hawaii Island. According to the Hawaii Farm Bureau, production for 2013-14 was 41 million pounds. The estimated farm value for macadamia nuts was $35.7 million.