Arabica coffee yields at various harvest seasons and altitudes in the Gayo Highlands, Aceh

Abstract

Arabica coffee yields in the Gayo Highlands, Aceh, are limited by altitude. Areas suitable for coffee are an altitude of 1000-1600 m asl. Climate changes, especially rising temperatures, result in vulnerability to Arabica coffee yields. This study aims to study coffee yields at various locations based on altitudes and harvest seasons. This study used a split-plot design, with 3 replications. The main plot is two season harvests (S) (March-June Harvest and September-December Harvest), and the sub-plot is six locations based on altitudes in Bener Meriah (BM) and in Aceh Tengah (AT), i.e.: BM>1000-1200 m asl, BM>1200-1400 m asl, BM >1400-1600 m asl, AT>1000-1200 m asl, AT>1200-1400 m asl, and AT >1400-1600 m asl. The season harvests did not affect all coffee yield parameters. Altitudes significantly affected the average number of coffee cherries/plant, the average weight of 100 dry coffee beans, and the average weight of dry coffee beans/plant but did not affect the average weight of coffee cherries/plant. The combination of harvest seasons and altitudes (locations) shows that in the March-June harvest season, location BM>1200-1400 m asl results in a better average weight of 100 dry coffee beans than September-December harvest season, while in AT>1200-1400 m asl is the other way around.