Environmental associations of coffee berry borer infestation with differential redox and antioxidant responses in Coffea canephora

Coffee berry borer (Hypothenemus hampei; CBB) is a pest of coffee, but environmental factors associated with infestation and berry responses remain unclear. We examined environmental, infestation, redox, and antioxidant relationships in Coffea canephora. Five plots containing 15 trees were evaluated. CBB infestation intensity was negatively correlated with litter height (rs = −0.785, p = 0.001), ground-cover diversity (rs = −0.600, p = 0.018), and air temperature (rs = −0.633, p = 0.011), but positively correlated with wind velocity (rs = 0.693, p = 0.004). Infested berries showed increased MDA, whereas DPPH varied among plots. Infestation intensity was positively correlated with MDA (rs = 0.641, p < 0.001) and APX expression (rs = 0.655, p < 0.001). PLS-SEM showed positive associations with redox responses (β = 0.789) and antioxidant gene expression (β = 0.568). Overall, CBB infestation was associated with increased lipid peroxidation and APX expression, indicating a differential antioxidant response.