Transcript Phases of Growth - Capital High School

THE ESSENCE OF COFFEE
SCAA
Trainer’s Guide to Specialty Coffee
Myth, History, Cultivation through
Export
COFFEE BASICS:
The Phases of Growth from Seed to Export
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Cultivation—The Ideal Growing Conditions
Coffee Propagation—Nursery Care
Transplanting to the Field
Inner Cropping
Plantation Management
Pruning
Weed Control
Fertilization
Irrigation
Diseases and Pests
Cultivation—The Ideal
Growing Conditions
As a fruit bearing plant, coffee requires very
particular and moderate conditions in which
to grow and to thrive.
This coffee growing belt exists between the
Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn—or rather
between 25 degrees North and South of the
Equator.
As mentioned earlier, coffee grows primarily
at an altitude ranging from sea level to 6000
feet with arabica plants growing from 2000 to
6000 feet.
SCAA map of coffee growing regions
The temperature too must remain in a
consistent range with the ideal
temperature for arabicas staying
between 68 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit.
Higher grown arabica coffees, which
develop in a temperature slightly cooler
than that ideal for robusta, mature more
slowly.
Slow maturation allows the arabica
coffee bean to develop more flavor.
Dramatic changes in temperature, such
as those producing frost, can kill the
coffee plant.
As with temperature, the amount of
annual rainfall is equally critical to the
development of the coffee plant.
60 to 80 inches of annual rainfall equally
distributed throughout the year are
perfect.
Evidence of the devastation that climate
changes can produce are seen in the
disastrous frosts that hit Brazil in July of 1975
and in 1994 as well as in the drought which
struck in 1985.
The wide spread
damage to coffee
plants caused by
these events
sent world coffee
prices soaring.
results of the 1975 killer frost
Proper drainage is also critical as too
much moisture in the soil may cause the
wood of the tree to over-develop while
suppressing the flowers and fruit of the
coffee plant.
Soil rich in nitrogen potash, and
phosphoric acid (often supplemented by
volcanic ash) is ideal for coffee
cultivation.
In general terms, BALANCE is the key
word to describe coffee’s ideal growing
conditions.
A tipping of the scales in any of these
environmental areas can have a
devastating effect on a coffee crop.
Although it is technically considered an
evergreen shrub, the coffee plant is
usually referred to as a tree for without
pruning it can grow to a height of more
than 20 feet.
A single tree
can
commercially
produce quality
fruit for
approximately
25 years.
mature coffee tree
Coffee Propagation—
Nursery Care
These first years of a coffee tree’s life require
a great deal of tender loving care.
Coffee growers use 2 methods of propagation
to initiate the coffee life cycle.
The primary propagation method used by
nearly all arabica growers is Seedling
Propagation.
This method is considered to be easier and
faster than is the Vegetative Propagation
method.
As arabica trees are
self-pollinating, they
produce seeds, which
are identical to the
parent plant.
self-pollinating tree
In Seedling Propagation, the ripe
coffee cherry is carefully selected.
Only those perfectly shaped and of a
deep red color are chosen for
reproduction.
These cherries are
then gently
squeezed in order seeds being removed from the
cherry
to remove the two
flat-sided seeds
(beans) inside.
The seeds are
then placed in
water. Seeds that
float are discarded
for lacking density.
The seeds,
which are
selected,
are planted
in a rich
soil in
nursery
beds or in
small
containers.
Planting in a container
When leaves begin
to emerge, the
plants are carefully
shaded from the
direct sun.
Just as the original
Arab cultivators
lovingly tended to
their seedlings
1000 years ago, so
too do today’s
coffee caretakers.
Covered nursery
Transplanting to the field
After attentive nursery
care ranging from 6 to
18 months, the young
plants are transplanted
to the field when they
reach a height of 18 to
24 inches.
In the fields, the young
trees are planted 10 to
12 feet apart.
Coffee tree growth
progression –
seedling to 9 months
Although growing conditions and the
type of coffee plant cultivated can affect
the ratio of the number of trees grown
per acre, the average coffee plantation
contained 1200 trees per acre.
As previously emphasized, the
conditions for coffee growth must offer
set of balanced elements.
Coffee field
For example,
exposure to
sunlight,
while
necessary for
coffee
production,
must be
controlled.
Too much direct sunlight can speed up
maturation and deprive the bean of a fuller
flavor.
Growing coffee on hilly ground can offer the
plant the perfect exposure to both sunlight
and shade.
Additionally, the natural mists and cloud cover
in such areas as Sumatra, Colombia, and
Mexico also provide a good balance between
sun and shade.
Terraced hillside
To protect coffee trees from too much
exposure to the sun, some farmers plant
shade trees among their coffee plants.
While shade trees reduce the yield per acre
(because they take up space), their benefits
far exceed their detriments.
As they reduce sunlight’s exposure to the
earth, shade trees also can limit the number
of weeds growing among the coffee plants.
Shade tree planting
Weeds can draw nutrients from the soil
and away from the coffee plants and
therefore, must be pulled and
controlled.
Pulling weeds can be labor intensive
and expensive.
Additionally, fewer weeds mean less
need for herbicides.
Growing the right kind of shade tree can fix
nitrates in the soil, which can be beneficial to
the coffee plant.
Such a shade tree is the ALBIZIA, which also
offers a high canopy and requires less
pruning due to its economy of foliage.
The leaves and debris of shade trees also act
as a natural mulch thus enriching and
fertilizing the soil.
Shade trees also provide a more stable
climatic environment.
They protect the coffee trees from wind and
provide more constant temperatures between
day and night.
Shade coffee plantations have proven to be
excellent environments for bio-diversity.
For example, some plantations provide
habitat for migratory birds.
Lastly, shade plantations have a similar
consumption of carbon dioxide as do tropical
rain forests.
Inner Cropping
Inner Cropping is the planting of food crops
or other cash crops intermingled with the
coffee crop.
The benefits of Inner Cropping include the
production of crops, which are more
harmoniously and environmentally balanced
with the ecosystem.
Additionally, Inner Cropping can be valuable
for disease and pest resistance. The diversity
of the crop lowers the risk of pest infestation.
Inner cropping with bananas
The key to effective Inner Cropping is to
select the proper crop to grow with the coffee.
For example, while we have discussed the
benefits of providing shade to the developing
coffee plant, the use of an improper Inner
Crop could create an uneven distribution of
shade.
This could prove damaging to the coffee crop.
Additional damage to the coffee crop
can occur when an Inner Crop draws
nutrients from the soil, which the coffee
tree needs to grow and flourish.
Inner Crops such as oranges and black
beans provide nutrients to the soil and
are beneficial to the coffee plants.
Plantation Management
Maintaining the coffee tree
and its surrounding
environment takes
constant effort in order to
ensure a successful crop.
Such maintenance
includes pruning,
controlling weeds,
fertilizing, and in some
areas, irrigating the soil.
workers manicuring coffee
fields
Pruning
Pruning a coffee tree to a height of 6 to
8 feet helps to maximize the plant’s
production by concentrating the tree’s
energies on its fruit bearing areas.
Additionally, restricting the coffee plant’s
height and width make it easier to
harvest the crop.
Pruning
Due to the tendency of its branches to
die back from the tip, thus turning its
leaves yellow, arabica plants require
more pruning than do robustas.
Usually, pruning begins right after
harvesting ends and before the flowers
and buds for the next crop appear.
Weed Control
As mentioned earlier, weeds can wreak
havoc on a coffee crop. In fact, heavy weeds
drawing valuable nutrients from the soil and
reduce a coffees yield by more than 20
percent.
Manual or mechanical weed removal is used
to eliminate this problem.
The manual method relies on workers’ efforts
to slash the weeds with a hoe or a knife.
The mechanical
method utilizes a tractor
to pull a large rake
between the rows of
coffee destroying the
weeds in its wake.
hand weeding
Fertilization
Years of coffee production can exhaust the
soil by depleting it of essential nutrients.
Farmers attempt to restore the balance of the
soil by fertilizing.
Some farmers use chemical fertilizers
containing nitrogen and potassium.
Others use more organic fertilizers made
from cattle manure, dried grass, and leaf
mulch, and the coffee pulp of discarded
cherries.
fertilizing
Coffees that are sold as Organic must be
guaranteed free of any chemical exposure
and must be accompanied by a certificate
verifying and identifying it as chemical free.
Irrigation
While the majority of the world’s coffees
rely on natural rainfall, some arabica
growers irrigate their crops.
The irrigation methods used include
watering with overhead sprinklers to
produce artificial rain or watering
beneath each tree with an underground
sprinkler system.
organic fertilizing
Diseases and Pests
Like other agricultural products, coffee
too is susceptible to attack from insect
infestation and disease.
These assaults can affect the
developing coffee cherries as well as
the coffee plant itself.
CBD or Coffee Berry Disease is a fungus
that contaminates the coffee cherry causing
black spots to appear on the fruit.
Even when treated with a fungicide, CBD can
reduce a crop’s yield by up to 80 percent.
Another devastating fungus affects the coffee
plant’s leaves and is called Coffee Leaf
Rust.
This fungus produces powdery looking
orange spots on the leaves
Coffee Berry Disease damage
Coffee Leaf Rust can be
fatal to a coffee plant for
a plant can become so
heavily infected that all of
the leaves fall from the
tree causing it to die.
Insects too can destroy
coffee. The worst of
these is the coffee-bean
borer, which attacks the
coffee bean itself by
burrowing into it and then
eating it.
Coffee Leaf Rust
damage
In order to protect coffee
from pests and diseases,
most producing countries
are trying to develop
disease resistant coffee
strains.
Alternative plantation
management strategies
are also being
investigated in order to
help protect coffee crops.
insect damage