Coffee Jassid
Empoasca flavescens (Fabricius)
📖 Description
Coffee Jassid (Empoasca flavescens — the Green Leafhopper) is a serious sap-sucking pest of coffee (one of India’s important plantation crops, with over 4.5 lakh hectares cultivated annually) and other crops across the Indian subcontinent. Particularly severe in the major coffee-growing belts of Karnataka (Chikmagalur, Hassan, Kodagu, Shimoga, Dakshina Kannada — India’s largest coffee-producing state, contributing over 70% of national production), Kerala (Wayanad, Idukki, Palakkad, Nelliampathy), and Tamil Nadu (Nilgiris, Dindigul, Theni, Pulneys, Anamalais). India is the world’s sixth largest producer of coffee (over 3.5 lakh tonnes annually, with exports worth over ₹6,000 crore per year — coffee supports over 1 lakh farmers and 5 lakh farmworkers in the Western Ghats). The pest is unusual among coffee pests because (a) it is highly polyphagous — populations build up on coffee, tea, cotton, okra, brinjal, potato, castor and grapevine, allowing rapid and damaging infestations on these crops, (b) the jassid causes ‘hopperburn’ — a characteristic yellowing, browning, curling and drying of leaf margins and tips caused by phytotoxaemia (the jassid’s saliva is toxic to the plant), (c) the pest attacks the leaves directly — reducing photosynthesis and berry yield (the marketable product), causing 20-40% yield loss in severely affected coffee bushes, (d) the pest has 8-12 overlapping generations per year allowing rapid population buildup, with each female laying 30-50 eggs embedded in the leaf veins and petioles, (e) the pest is a strong jumper — adults jump off the leaf when disturbed, making field scouting difficult, and (f) the pest is most active during the warm humid post-monsoon period (Sep-Jan) — exactly when coffee berries are ripening. IPM with yellow sticky trap monitoring, biological control (Verticillium fungus; conservation of predatory bugs, spiders, and lacewings), neem-based sprays, need-based insecticide rotation (Pymetrozine and Flonicamid are selective to jassids and safe to natural enemies), balanced fertilization, shade management, and weed host management provides effective control. The pest is a particular concern for Indian coffee growers because (i) coffee is a long-duration perennial crop (50-60 year productive life) — a single infested bush loses income for decades, (ii) the crop is grown mostly by small and marginal farmers in the Western Ghats with limited access to IPM knowledge, (iii) the foliage is the most important part of the coffee bush for photosynthesis — direct damage to it reduces berry yield and quality, (iv) the crop is the primary cash crop supporting millions of farm families — any widespread outbreak would be economically devastating, and (v) the jassid’s small size, hidden feeding on leaf undersides, and jumping behaviour make early detection difficult.
⚠️ Symptoms to watch for
- Characteristic 'hopperburn' on leaves — yellowing, browning, curling and drying of leaf margins and tips (caused by phytotoxaemia — the jassid's saliva is toxic to the plant), reduced photosynthesis (yellow leaves have reduced chlorophyll), reduced vegetative growth and berry yield in coffee (20-40% yield loss in severely affected coffee bushes), reduced quality of coffee berries (lightweight, poor cup quality), leaf drop in severe infestations (defoliation reduces yield in the following season), transmission of Coffee Phyllody Phytoplasma (suspected)
🩹 Treatment
- Install yellow sticky traps @ 20/ha for monitoring (jassids are attracted to yellow), spray neem oil 1% on colonies (focus on leaf undersides where jassids feed), conserve native predatory bugs and spiders, do not apply broad-spectrum insecticides (kills natural enemies and triggers jassid resurgence)
🌿 Organic treatments
- Spray neem oil 1% + 5 g/L soap on colonies (focus on leaf undersides — soap breaks down the waxy cuticle), apply Verticillium lecanii @ 5 g/L (entomopathogenic fungus — effective in humid conditions), spray NSKE 5% (neem seed kernel extract — azadirachtin-based), apply Beauveria bassiana @ 5 g/L, conserve native predatory bugs (Orius, Geocoris), spiders, and lacewings (Chrysoperla), spray fish oil rosin soap 25 g/L, intercrop with marigold (repels jassids), light traps @ 1/ha to catch adult jassids, apply Metarhizium anisopliae @ 5 g/L
🧪 Chemical treatments
- Imidacloprid 17.8 SL @ 0.3 ml/L, Thiamethoxam 25 WG @ 0.2 g/L, Acetamiprid 20 SP @ 0.2 g/L, Pymetrozine 50 WG @ 0.3 g/L (selective to jassids, safe to predators), Flonicamid 50 WG @ 0.3 g/L, Diafenthiuron 50 WP @ 1 g/L, Buprofezin 25 SC @ 1.5 ml/L (insect growth regulator — effective against nymphs), Lambda-Cyhalothrin 5 EC @ 0.5 ml/L (only if pest population crosses ETL — avoid during flowering to protect pollinators) — apply during early morning or late evening when jassids are less active, rotate modes of action
🛡️ Prevention
- Plant jassid-tolerant coffee varieties (S.795, Sln.9, Cauvery, Hemavathi where available), use clean certified planting material, destroy weed hosts (Ageratum, Bidens, Acalypha) around coffee gardens, install yellow sticky traps @ 20/ha for monitoring, use reflective mulches (silver plastic) which repel jassids, balanced fertilization (avoid excess nitrogen which favours tender succulent growth attractive to jassids), provide adequate shade in coffee gardens (shade reduces jassid population buildup — over 30% shade is recommended), provide adequate irrigation (water-stressed coffee bushes are more vulnerable), do not interplant with alternate hosts (cotton, okra, brinjal), conserve natural enemies by avoiding broad-spectrum insecticides (broad-spectrum insecticides kill predatory bugs and spiders, leading to jassid resurgence), do not damage the foliage during cultural operations (mechanical damage provides entry sites for pathogens), Rogue out and destroy coffee bushes with severe hopperburn (they are a source of jassids for neighbouring bushes), intercrop with marigold (repels jassids and attracts predatory hoverflies)
🪴 Affected plants
- Coffee (Coffea arabica, C. canephora), Tea, Cotton, Okra, Brinjal, Potato, Castor, Grapevine, numerous ornamentals and weeds (over 100 plant species)
🦋 Natural predators
- Predatory bugs (Orius, Geocoris), spiders, lacewings (Chrysoperla), ladybird beetles, predatory thrips, mirid bugs
🌱 Host plants
- Coffea arabica, Coffea canephora, Camellia sinensis, Gossypium hirsutum, Abelmoschus esculentus, Solanum melongena, Solanum tuberosum, Ricinus communis, Vitis vinifera
🔄 Lifecycle
- Adult female lays 30-50 eggs embedded in the leaf veins and petioles.
- Egg incubation 5-7 days.
- Nymph passes through 5 instars over 10-15 days on the leaf underside.
- Adult lifespan 25-35 days; female may lay 30-50 eggs in her lifetime.
- Total life cycle 15-22 days; 8-12 overlapping generations per year.
- Population peaks during the warm humid post-monsoon period (Sep-Jan).
📅 Season
- Active year-round in tropical coffee gardens; peaks Sep-Jan (warm humid post-monsoon conditions most favourable for jassid reproduction, and coffee berries are ripening)
🔎 Appearance
- Adult is a small, slender, wedge-shaped, yellowish-green to pale green leafhopper (family Cicadellidae); head broad and rounded with two small black spots between the compound eyes; pronotum and forewings pale green; legs slender, pale green; wings held roof-like over the body at rest.
- Nymphs are smaller, more rounded, pale yellowish-green with short wing pads (wing pads grow with each instar); characteristically move sideways (crab-like) when disturbed.
- Eggs are elongate, colourless, laid embedded in the leaf veins and petioles.
- The jassid is a strong jumper — adults jump off the leaf when disturbed, making them difficult to count in the field.
💥 Damage level
- Moderate
🔁 Reproduction rate
- Fast
🗺️ Geographic regions
- Indian Subcontinent
- South Asia
- Southeast Asia
- Cosmopolitan in Tropical and Subtropical Regions Worldwide
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