AGRONOMY PRACTICE COFFEE

INTRODUCTION

  • Botanical name : Coffee arabica – Arabica coffee, C . canephora – Robusta coffee
  • Family : Rubiaceae
  • Origin : Ethiopia (South Africa)
  • Coffee – botanical name – family – origin – introduction – importance – botany – Arabica and robusta coffee – varieties – climate and soil – propagation – preparation of land – planting – provision of shade – training and pruning – manuring – irrigation – inter cropping – soil management – mulching – weed control – cropping – harvesting – yield – processing
  • A non-alcoholic beverage. Ethiopia is center of origin for C. arabica and that of C. canephore is less known. Spread through Arabs. Coffee cultivation confined to South States Karnataka (54%), Kerala 28% and Tamilnadu(16%). Now also in non-traditional areas like A.P., Orissa, NE States. In A.P. Chintapalli, Paderu, Machkund, Maredumilli, Sitampet, Ananthagiri hills, Araku, Srikakulam, East Godavari. Among total coffee area C.arabica occupies 60% and Robusta – C. canephora – 40%.More than 95% of coffee area in A.P., is occupied by Arabica

Botany 

  • Rubiaceae. Coffee genus consists of 70 species, out of which 4 species are important. C . arabica – famous for; its aroma ; C . canephora –popular for low cost of cultivation. C . liberica (Tree coffee) and C. excelsa are grown on limited scale for blending purpose

  • S.No

    Character

    C. arabica

    C. canephora

    1

    Ploidy

    Tetra 2n=44

    Diploid 2n=22

    2

    Plant Status

    Small tree, Shrub/Bush

    Bigger tree

    3

    Root

    Small, deep rooted

    Large, Shallow

    4

    Branches

    Persistent

    Deciduous harvest

    after

    5

    Leaves

    Dark green

    Pale green

    6

    Flowering part

    On new wood

    On new and old

    7

    Regularity bearing

    in

    Regular

    Irregular

    8

    Flowers

    Scaly, Small bracts, 4-5 inflorescence,     at     each node

    1-4 flowers/inflorescence

    Leafy,expanded bracts 5-6flowers/ inflorescence

    9

    Pollination

    Self fertile, Self pollinated

    Self sterile , Cross pollinated

    10

    Berries

    Medium

    20/node

    in

    size,     10-

    Small, 40-60/node

    11

    Fruit development

    8-9 months

    10-11 months

    12

    Caffeine content

    1.47%

    2.2%

  • Coffee plants are evergreen perennial shrubs. Two kinds of branches –
    • i) Orthotropics: These are uprights and produce uprights and laterals
    • ii) Plagiotropics: These are laterals and Produce laterals only. Fruiting is on laterals only. On decapitation of orthotropics results secondaries (laterals), tertiaries and quarternaries are produced. Flowers appear in clusters, packed at nodes. Fruit is a drupe with two seeds inside, exocarp is often juicy envelops endocarp (parchment cell) within which seeds are enclosed.

Propagation :

  • Coffee is propagated both by seed and negatively (cuttings). Good shaped, high and regular yielding, excellent quality beans, disease resistant, are marked as mother plants. Healthy fully mature, ripe fruits are collected. Hand pulped with ash and extracted seeds dried in shade. Seeds sown within two months of gathering or seeds stored with dry powdered charcoal for 10 months without loss in viability. Select light to medium loam, humus rich, nematode free pest free, gentle slop, partially sheltered site.
  • Raised beds(15 cm) one meter width and convenient length are prepared. Four baskets of FYM/ Compost, 2Kg line, 500 g rock phosphate are incorporated into a bed of 1 m x 6 m size. Seed treated with agrosan, sown in Dec-Jan months flat side facing the soil. Seeds sown 2.5 cm apart in the rows, which are spaced at 15 – 20 cm.
  • Covered with thin layer of fine soil bed is covered with 5 cm paddy straw to ensure even temperature and conserve moisture. Beds are watered daily, protected by direct sun light by erecting an overhead pandal. Germination commences in four weeks turned and will be completed within another 5 to 6 weeks. When the seedlings are 5 – 8 cm tall, shifted either o secondary nursery beds or to poly bags of 150 gauge during Feb  March. Secondary nursery beds are prepared in the same way as in the case of seed beds. Seedlings are transplanted at a spacing of 15 –20 cm within the rows spaced at 30 cm apart. Regular watering and after case of the seedlings should follow Overhead shade gradually thinned  removed before the onset of monsoon.

Cuttings

  • Obtained from bushes of outstanding performance and free from pests and diseases. Single node, 3 – 6 m old, semihard wood (greenwood) cuttings 1.0 cm long with two basal leaves are prepared. To enhance rooting, the bases dipped in 5000 ppm (BA at planting.)
  • Cuttings are planted in poly bags filled with forest soil, sand and FYM during rainy season (June, August). Poly bags with cuttings are arranged in a trench (2m width, 50 cm depth and of conv. length) covered with thick polythene sheet over a frame work of bamboos or aluminum framed. Cuttings will root in about 3 months after planting and hardened under shade for 2 months. Propagation by cuttings is not an established practice in India.

Training and Pruning:

  • Single stem system: When the plant reach 75 cm in arabica : 110 – 120 cm in robusta it is topped to restrict the vertical grower. Facilitate lateral spreading and increase bearing wood. Improve ground coverage, root system is sheltered. Ideal for low RF areas and followed in India.
  • Multiple stem system: Common in Kenya – Erect branches grow from the base of the main stem in restricted number (4 – 6). Allowed to grow either topped or un topped at 2 m height. System allows more efficient spraying and harvesting and greater ease in pruning.
  • Pruning is done immediately after harvest to replace worn out branches
  • Centering : Removal of veg. growth up to 15 cm radius and up to the first node
  • Desuckering : Removal of orthotropic branches
  • Handling : Removal of small axcillary sprouts, otherwise grow towards inner side and cause shade.
  • Nipping : Growing tip of primary branches is removed to encourage secondaries and tertiaries.
  • Manuring: Produce fruits and fresh wood, simultaneously. Leaching in heavy rainfall areas.Time of flowering, fruit set, development and maturation.

Cropping

  • Fruit in 3 rd year of ptg. Productive life is 30 – 50 years dep. upon climate and management.

Harvesting

  • Arabica comes to harvesting earlier in the season ( Nov. – Dec.) since they take 8 – 9 m for fruit development; Robusta – 10-11 m (Jan.- Feb.).Harvested by hand ripe berries are hand picked. Pick as and when they ripe for better quality, several pickings are done 4 pickings
    • Fly picking : First picking in the season. Selective picking of ripe berries during other continued till February.
    • Main picking: Well formed and fully ripened berries are harvested 4 to 6 times at 10 – 15 day interval from Dec. Bulk yields are obtained during this period.
    • Stripping : Final harvest. Picking berries left on the pt irrespective of referring stage.
    • Cleanings : Collection of dropped berries

Yield

  • Vary according to climate, variety, cultural condition, management of plantation & to a large extent on weather conditions at and after flowering. Arabica – 480 Kgs dry berries/ha ; Robusta – 490 Kg/ha.

Processing

  • commercial coffee – beans of coffee with pulp removed (
    parchment)
  • Pulp must for removed. Processed in two ways :
    • Wet processing(Parchment coffee)
    • Dry processing (Cherry coffee)

A.Wet processing

  • For “Arabica” coffee yields superior quality product .
    • Pulping: Sweet mucilaginous pulp + skin, removed with the help of pulpers on the same day of harvesting.
    • Demucilaging : Remove mucilage, otherwise, leads to moulding and musty small of the beans.by two processes
      • Fermentation : Commonly used mucilage breaks down during fermentation. Time required varies with variety and degree of ripeness. Arabica – 36 hrs; Robusta – 72 hrs when correctly fermented – mucilage do not stick to land.
      • Alkali treatment. : After draining excess water, pulped beans treated with 10% solution of caustic soda (sodium hydroxide) mass is stirred thoroughly and trampled & washed Arabica – l lr. Robusta – 2 hrs for alkali treatment.
    • Washing : Demucilaged beans soaked in water for 24 hours and then washed thoroughly in running water, 3 to 4 times until the stickiness completely disappears.
    • Drying : Now in parchment stage. It is dried in sun/ air driers washed beans are spread on clean tiled or concrete drying floor to 7 – 10 cm thickness. Beans raked and stirred frequently. Parchment should be heaped up and covered in the evening until next morning sun drying takes 7 – 10 days depending on weather.
    • Storage – stored in new, clean gunnies.

Dry processing (Cherry coffee)

  • For Robusta coffee;
  • Harvested berries are either sun dried or in air driers – usually sun drying is adopted, Sun dried for 12 – 15 days on drying floors, with frequency stirring and turning of beans for uniform drying. End point – Rattling sound of berries Sun dried coffee possess better flavor than that dried artificially. Dried coffee stores well; dried pulp forms hard protective cover on beans. Dried pulp is removed by pounding in a mortar or by hulling (on large scale). Does not require any elaborate equipment and is simpler & cheaper dry season should coincide the time of ripening.