Variety

There are two types of coffee- Arabica and Robusta.

Arabica type:

• Selection 5 B (S 2931)
• Selection 6
• Selection 9 (S 2790)
• Selection 12 (Kaveri)
• Selection 7.3 (S 3807)
• Selection 8 (HDT)

Robusta type:

• Selection IR (S 274)
• Selection 3 R (C x R)

Climate and soil

The soil should be deep, friable, and rich in organic matter with a pH of 6.0-6.5. The soil and climatic requirements for Arabica and Robusta types are as follows:

Planting material

In coffee, generally the propagation is done through seeds and of late in Robusta, the clonal propagation was also established to be successful. To a limited extent, grafted plants are also being planted.

Planting time

Seedlings can be transplanted during September - October months.

Planting

Disease free and vigorous seedlings are selected for planting. Seedlings with stunted and twisted roots are discarded. Rooted plants (aged 16-18 months) with and without ball are planted during June and bag plants are generally planted during Sept- Oct. A hole is made at the centre of the pit after leveling the soil. The seedling is placed in the hole with its taproot and lateral roots spread out in proper position. The hole is then filled. The soil around the seedling is packed 3 cm high above the ground to prevent stagnation of water around the collar. The seedlings are provided with cross stakes to prevent wind damage and mulched properly.

Ball and bag seedlings are planted towards the end of the heavy monsoon rains and commencement of northeast rains, i.e., in September. First the bottom portion of the bag is cut and the tip of the root is nipped. The seedling is gently removed from the bag with its soil and root system intact and planted in the hole. The hole is covered with soil and the plant is firmly fixed similar to ball plants. It is wise to maintain both types of nurseries and have planting seasons, June and September.

Manuring

Fertilizer recommendation for coffee (N:P₂O₅:K₂O, kg/ha)

Irrigation

Wherever water is available, overhead irrigation by sprinkler system is adopted to a greater advantage during November-January to keep the soil moisture level and in February-April for ensuring blossom as well as backing, if necessary.

Plants affected by drought limit vegetative growth, show floral abnormalities and poor fruit set resulting in reduced yield. Therefore, drought tolerance is an important aspect of coffee productivity. Arabica coffee is more tolerant to drought than Robusta. For inducing tolerance in Robusta the following nutrient solution can be sprayed @ 1 litre per plant.

Nutrient in 200 litres of water

Harvesting

Each year coffee is harvested during the dry season when the coffee cherries are bright red, glossy, and firm. Ripe cherries are either picked by hand, stripped from the tree with both unripe and overripe beans, or all the beans are collected using a harvesting machine. These processes are called selective picking, stripping, and mechanical harvesting, respectively.

To maximize the amount of ripe coffee harvested it is necessary to selectively pick the beans from the ripe tree by hand and leave behind unripe, green beans to be harvested at a later time.

About 12-20 kg of export ready coffee will be produced from every 100 kg of coffee cherries harvested.

Processing

Irrespective of the harvesting method, green coffee beans and overripe coffee cherries inevitably end up mixed with the perfectly ripe cherries and must be separated. Overripe coffee cherries, undeveloped coffee cherries, sticks and leaves float in water. Ripe coffee beans and green coffee cherries are dense and sink. The ripe and green cherries can be sent to the patios to be dried using the natural (dry) process or can be sent to the pulping machines.

The pulped beans are put into cement tanks with water and are allowed to ferment for 16-36 hours. On the way to the fermentation tanks another density separation can occur. The highest quality coffees are the most dense and should be separated and fermented in a different tank