Productivity and beverage sensory quality of arabica coffee intercropped with timber species

Abstract

Abstract: The objective of this work was to evaluate the productivity and beverage sensory quality of arabica coffee under the influence of tree species cultivated at different spacings. The experiment was set in 2012, in the municipality of Santo Antônio do Amparo, in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. A randomized complete block design was carried out with four replicates and seven treatments, as follows: Catuaí Vermelho IAC 99 Coffea arabica in monoculture (3.40x0.65 m); and this cultivar intercropped at two spacings (9.0x13.6 and 18.0x13.6 m) in the coffee row ‒ either with African mahogany (Khaya ivorensis), teak (Tectona grandis), or pink cedar (Acrocarpus fraxinifolius). Three coffee rows were fixed between rows, totaling 13.6 m between the wooded rows. Productivity, sensory analysis (cup test), and content analysis of sensory attributes were evaluated in the 2017 and 2018 crop years. The treatments and years of harvest influenced productivity. The sensory analysis was positive for coffee intercropped with African mahogany and teak, in 2018. Sensory attributes and nuances are modified by the years of harvest. Arabica coffee plants intercropped with African mahogany show a superior productivity, regardless of the spacing between species, as well as a higher sensory quality in the 2018 harvest.