An analysis of the effects of frosts on the principal coffee areas of Brazil

Abstract

Frost damage on coffee plantations in south-central Brazil is not a frequent occurrence. However, when this area is affected by a severe frost — as happened in August of 1975 — the consequences for the agricultural economy of south-central Brazil and the socio-economic condition of the rural labourers are serious. In this paper the meteorological characteristics of a frost condition are outlined and their physiological effects upon coffee bushes are stated. A differentiation is made as to the timely occurrence of frosts and their effects on crops. If the frost hits during harvest time (April through June) the beans may be burned and a qualitative loss may ensure. If the frost occurs after the harvest, only the coffee bushes are affected and they may have recovered by the following agricultural year. The most devastating frosts are those that occur late in winter (August-September) because they kill the buds and the flowers so that next year's harvest will be lost. Coffee in south-central Brazil is usually grown on plantations of 10 to 100 ha, and 100 to 1000 ha. There has been a trend to expand the coffee growing area into Mato Grosso-Rondonia, while in the state of Parana, where frosts are more severe but the soils are better, coffee growing in large estates has intensified. Moreover, the introduction of new methods of planting and mechanization of the agricultural work have brought about an intensification of coffee production. Analysis of the improvements in cultivating pratices and of agricultural mechanization that these two processes have caused a drastic reduction in the demand for agricultural labourers. Added to this, the possibilities of rural employment have also been adversely affected by the trend among many coffee growers to introduce other crops into their estates in order to minimize their losses due to frost.