The 16th annual Avocado Festival was held Saturday at Hale Halawai, however, the outlook for production on Hawaii Island looks grim.
The Big Island grows over 200 varieties of the fruit making it “the center of diversity in the United States,” according to West Hawaii Fruit Growers President Brian Lievens. However, a pest known as the avocado lace bug has taken hold and this winter’s crop has been decimated, growers say.
Avocado lace bug (Pseudacysta perseae) was first detected in Pearl City, Oahu, in December 2019 and was subsequently identified on Hawaii Island and Maui in early 2020. The pest only feeds on the undersides of foliage and will not attack fruits, however, heavy feeding can lead to leaf drop and reduced fruit yield.
Ty McDonald, Master Gardener Program coordinator at the University of Hawaii Kona Extension, confirmed the loss of yield this year.
“It is devastating. It has hit us hard,” he said. “There is no natural enemy.”
Exact figures on the impact are not yet available as the Department of Agriculture has yet to release details for the 2022-23 season.
In the 2021-22 season, Hawaii produced 1.2 million pounds of avocado, down 3% from the 2020-21 season. However, crop value was up 2.6% to $1.2 million, according to the state’s statistics. Growers reported that crop loss was a result of drought, insects such as the avocado deer and lace bugs, and fungal diseases.
Hawaii avocado production reached a high of 1.47 million pounds in the 2018-19 season. That year, the crop was valued at nearly $1.8 million.
The University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources has been fervently working on a solution to the problem, but as yet to see much luck.
There are some pesticides that are available to combat the bug, however, usage and application are very specific and not always effective.
CTAHR recommends soil drenching, which is easier and longer-lasting than sprays, and warns against spraying when the tree is flowering and bees are present. The college also recommends planting sweet alyssum, dill, fennel and marigolds around the trees because they are natural deterrents to bugs.
Even with those recommendations, Lievens said avocado trees around the island are not producing.
“This is absolutely devastating,” he said. “This is peak season and I usually have at least four varieties to display, now I only have one.”
The only variety Lievens produced this season was the Nishikawa, which he said has a higher oil content than other species. The lace bug did damage that crop as well.
“This is a crisis,” he said.
Lievens noted he is looking at varieties that are not as susceptible to the bug to bring to the local market from his Holualoa farm. “Right now, my goal is research and development,” he added.
“It is worse than devastating,” said Ken Love, Hawaii Tropical Fruit Growers executive director. “We are looking at more vigorous root stock. I stopped grafting different avocado trees because they can’t stay alive. It’s horrible.”
Jack Ebner, the only farmer to display his avocados at the festival’s fair on Saturday, said the amount of rain Kona experienced last summer also played a part in the proliferation of the invasive bug.
“The leaf rust bug is having a buffet lunch,” he said, indicating rainfall may have an adverse reaction to the proliferation of the invasive species, although the University of Hawaii cannot confirm the correlation.
The problem began showing in West Hawaii 3-4 years ago, and with each year appears to become more impactful on the trees and yield. We grow all organic, which is especially challenging. But as the article points out, even spraying is not the answer. We are pruning and attempting to stay on top of it, but losing the war.