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Coffee
Botanical Name – Coffea arabica
Family – Rubiaceae

Varieties

Arabica varieties
Sln 795, Sln 7, Sln 9, Sln 10, Cauvery and its selections HRC (Hawaian Red Cuturra), Chandragiri and San Ramon
Robusta varieties
Sln 274, Sln 270, Sln 3.

Soil

Soil – 

Coffee can be grown on many different soil types, but the ideal is a fertile, volcanic red earth or a deep, sandy loam. Yellow-brown, high silt soils are less preferred. Avoid heavy clay or poor-draining soils. Most soils on the Bolovens Plateaux are volcanic red earths suitable for coffee.

Climate –

Coffee generally requires somewhat warm temperature with moderate rainfall. Complete answer: Coffee is a tropical plant which is also grown in a semi-tropical climate. This plant requires heat, humidity and abundant rainfall to grow and yield well. Coffee requires an average temperature of 15℃ to 28℃ .

Propagation

Coffee crop is propagated by seeds.

Preparation of seeds
Healthy and well developed fully ripe berries are harvested from specially identified
plants for use as seed bearers. After discarding the floats, the sound fruits are depulped,
sieved and mixed with sieved wood ash and dried in shade. The seed is then graded to
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remove all cut, triangular and elephant beans. Prior to planting, the seeds are treated with
agrosan or any organomercurial compound to prevent fungal infection.
Nursery Practices

Select light loamy soil of good drainage and high organic matter content with water
and shade facilities. Form raised beds of 15 cm height, 1m width and of convenient length.

Incorporate 30 – 40 kg of well rotten compost, 2 kg of finely sieved agricultural lime and 400
g of rock phosphate to a bed of 1 x 6 m size. In heavy soils, it is necessary to add coarse
sand for drainage and aeration.

Sowing
Pre-sowing seed treatment with Azospirillum and Phosphobacteria can be done.
Seeds are sown in December – January in the bed 1.5 – 2.5 cm apart with the flat side down
wards in regular rows. Then they are covered with a thin layer of fine soil and a layer of
paddy straw. Water the beds daily and protect from direct sunlight by an over head pandal.
Seeds germinate in about 45 days after which they are transplanted to secondary nursery
beds for raising ball or bag nursery.
Bag nursery

Polythene bags with adequate number of holes in the bottom half are taken and are
filled with a prepared mixture containing jungle soil, FYM in the proportion of 6:2:1. An area
of 12 x 8 m can accommodate 5000 seedlings. Seedlings are planted in polythene bags.

Season

June – September.

Preparation of fields
Selective felling may be done while retaining a number of desirable shade trees.
Terracing should be done in deep slopy areas. After the summer showers, pits of
45x45x45cm are dug. The pits are left open for weathering and then filled and heaped for
planting. At the time of filling, apply 500 g of rock phosphate per pit along with top soil.
Planting is done along the contour in slopy areas.
Spacing

Arabica coffee: 1.5 to 2.0 m either way.
Dwarf varieties: San Ramon: 1 x 1 m.
Robusta coffee: 2.5 m either way.

Planting Shade Trees
Dadap is commonly used as a lower canopy shade. Stakes of 2 m length are
planted for every two coffee plants. Silver Oak and Dadaps are planted during June when
South-West monsoon commences. During summer the stem of young Dadaps are painted
with diluted lime or wrapped with polythene sheets in order to prevent them from sun scorch.
Regulate shade by cutting criss-cross branches during monsoon season. Silver oak trees
are planted at 6x6m for permanent shade.
Irrigation

It is generally grown as a rainfed crop. But irrigation with sprinkler during March –April increases blossoming and results in higher yields.

Manuring

Pruning

Centering and desuckering should be carried out for 5-6 years after planting.Done immediately after the harvest (June-July and September – October) and till the onset of monsoon. Unproductive wood between all primaries, secondaries and tertiaries should be removed.
Rejuvenation / collar Pruning
Removal of dead, exhausted, dried and worn out branches. Done immediately after the harvest.
Hard pruning
Plants are cut at 5-20 cm above the ground level and one leader shoot is allowed.
Medium Pruning
Removal of lateral shoots to regulate shade.
Light pruning
Removal of Suckers.

After Cultivation
Weeding and mulching should be done as and when necessary. Digging is done to a
depth of 30 cm towards the end of monsoon (October – November). The weeds and
vegetative debris are completely turned under and buried in the soil, while the stumps are
removed. This is known as the cover digging. In slopy areas, dig trenches on the contour 45
cm wide and 30 cm deep of any convenient length. Prune water shoots and disease affected
shoots.
Plant Protection

Pests
1)White stem borer
Attacks arabica coffee grown under inadequate shade.
 Maintain/create optimum shade
 Borer infested plants should be thoroughly traced, uprooted during March and September, burnt to avoid economic loss during the subsequent years.
 Install pheromone traps @ 25 /ha, if the incidence is high.
 Remove the loose scaly bark on the main stem and thick primaries using coir glove or coconut husk.
 Pad with chlorpyriphos 25% EC @ 5 ml by making a window in the stem at 5 cm x 5
cm and fill it with absorbant cotton dipped in insecticide solution and close it.

2)Berry borer
 Carry out timely and thorough harvest.
 Avoid gleanings as far as possible.
 Pick up and destroy the gleanings.
 Meticulously remove the leftover berries.
 Remove offseason berries to save main crop.
 Avoid excessive shade.
 Prune plants properly to facilitate better ventilation and illumination.
 While processing at the estate level, dry coffee berries to the prescribed moisture level :
Arabica / robusta parchment 10 %, Arabica cherry 10.5 % and robusta cherry 11.0 %.

3)Shot hole borer beetle
Attacks branches and suckers of robusta coffee. This pest thrives under heavy shade
and can be controlled by pruning the branches.

4)Green scales and mealy bugs:
 Release coccinellid predator Cryptolaemus montrouzieri @ 300 beetles/acre.
 Spray Lecanicillium lecanii @ 6 x 106 spores/ml or spray any one of the following insecticide:
Insecticide                                                                Dose
Oxydemeton –Methyl 25 % EC                             2.5 ml/lit.
Quinalphos 25 % EC                                                2.5 ml/lit.

5)Leaf miner
Spray Oxydemeton –Methyl 25 % EC @ 2.5 ml/lit

Disease

1)Rust
 Spray 0.5 % bordeaux mixture in February – March (Pre-bloom) followed by 0.03 % oxycarboxin in May – June (Pre-monsoon).
 Repeat in July – August (mid-monsoon) and September – October (Post-monsoon) with any one of the above fungicides or
 Spray 0.5 % bordeaux mixture during the month of June followed by 0.02 % triadimefon during September and 0.5 % bordeaux mixture           during the month of December

CIB recommendation
 Spray tebuconazole 50% + trifloxystrobin 25% WG @ 300 g/ha or pyroclostrobin 133g/l+ epoxiconazole 50 g/l SE @ 750 ml/ha.

2)Black rot or Koleroga
 Centering and handling of the bushes should be done prior to the onset of South-West monsoon
 Remove affected twigs
 Spray 1% bordeaux mixture during break in monsoon

CIB recommendation
 Spray tebuconazole 50 % + trifloxystrobin 25 % WG @ 300 g/ha

3)Collar rot
 Treat the seeds with carbendazim @ 1 g/kg or carboxin @ 0.7 g/kg
 Maintain filtered shade in nursery
 Drench nursery beds with mancozeb or captan 0.5 g/l before sowing

4)Brown eye spot
 Spray mancozeb @ 2 g/l or carbendazim @ 0.5 g/l durinf September month.

5)Black root rot
 Dig out and burn infected bushes
 Dig a trench 30 cm deep around affected spot along with a ring of healthy bushes
 Prune the healthy bushes within and outside the trench to allow sunlight
 Keep the trench free from fallen leaves
 Do not replant for 18 months

Harvest

Harvest starts during October and extends upto February. Coffee fruits should be
harvested as and when they become ripe. Coffee is just ripe when on gently squeezing the
fruits the beans inside come out easily.

Fly Picking

Small scale picking of ripe berries during October to February

Main Picking

Well formed and ripened berries are harvested during December. Bulk of the yields
are obtained from this picking.

Stripping
Picking of all the berries left irrespective of ripening.
Glennings
This is collection of fruits that have been dropped during harvesting. Unripe fruits
should be scrupulously sorted out before using the fruits for pulping. They may be dried
separately as cherry.
Yield

Dry parchment 750 – 1000 kg/ha.