Clean Coffee Research Articles

Effects of Time based Different Integrated Organic and Mineral Fertilizer Rate Application on Improved Coffee Cultivar Yield in South Ethiopia

Coffee Production plays a significant role in Ethiopian economy, even though the productivity at farm level is among the lowest as compared to other coffee producing country. Soil degradation is one of the most challenging problems in coffee growing areas of Ethiopia. Declining of soil fertility is a fundamental problem to agricultural growth and a major reason for slow growth of food production. Therefore, this activity was designed to determine optimum application time of integrated organic and inorganic fertilizers under coffee growing areas and to assess the effects of temporal application effects of integrated organic and inorganic fertilizers on coffee yield and yield stability performance of coffee cultivar. The experiment was conducted with RCBD design with four replication and ten treatments settled from integrated organic and inorganic inputs at Awada Agricultural research sub-center starting from 2013-2023 for the last 10 consecutive years. The result demonstrated that, application of 200kgha-1N, 77kgha-1P and 12.5tonha-1 integrated nutrient application at each cropping season resulted statically significant higher yield result as compared to the other nutrient applications. The plot treated with the recommended NP + recommended decomposed coffee husk application per year (200kgha-1N, 77kgha-1P and 12.5ton ha-1) indicated over all yield advantage over the other plots by 22.07% or 345kg/ha of clean coffee yield over the recommended (200kgha-1N, 77kgha-1P) applied alone per year and 33.39% or 522kg/ha of clean coffee yield over the plots treated with recommended decomposed coffee husk (12.5ton ha-1) alone application per each cropping season.

Investigating sensory-classified roasted arabica coffee with GC × GC-TOFMS and chemometrics to understand potato taste defect

The presence of flavor defects in coffee beans can negatively impact quality, the consumer experience, and commercial trade. Potato taste defect (PTD), a flavor defect specific to East African coffee, is often characterized by a musty, vegetable-like aroma. While previous work has correlated PTD with the presence of 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (IPMP), additional changes in the volatile profile of these beans can further amplify the distinct odor of this defect. The aim of this work was to develop a volatile fingerprint of PTD in roasted arabica coffee using headspace solid-phase microextraction coupled to comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC × GC-TOFMS) and chemometrics. Examination of the HS-SPME-GC × GC-TOFMS data with tile-based Fisher ratio (F-ratio) analysis discovered 359 analytes that differentiated clean coffee samples from those impacted by severe PTD (p-value < 0.01). It was determined that 327 of the identified analytes were more prevalent in the clean coffee samples while 32 analytes, including IPMP, exhibited higher signals in the impacted coffee samples. Principal components analysis (PCA) of the F-ratio results demonstrated that the coffee samples clustered based on the presence of PTD. Partial least squares (PLS) regression modeling further demonstrated that the compounds discovered by F-ratio analysis were correlated with PTD by accurately predicting the concentration of IPMP in the samples. Investigation of the compounds highly weighted in both the PCA and PLS loadings suggest that the presence of microorganisms on coffee beans after antestia bug damage could be a potential pathway for PTD. This damage results in an overall decrease of analytes that are known to have positive sensory contributions to coffee aroma. Collectively, the volatile fingerprint shown herein illustrates that PTD alters the biochemical process in coffee beans.

Effects of Vertical Number and Topping Practice on Growth and Yields of Stumped Coffee (&amp;lt;i&amp;gt;Coffea arabica&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt; L.) at Awada South Ethiopia

Coffee (<i>Coffea arabica</i> L.) is known to be one of the most important beverages in the world and is a very important source of foreign exchange for many countries. Old coffee rejuvenation or stumping is one of the most and commonly used by coffee producing countries for productivity enhancements methods especially for those poor productive due to old age and as well as genetic conservation practice. The most and large coverage of old coffee plantation is the most production constraints in almost all coffee growing areas of Ethiopia. A field experiment was conducted at Awada Agriculture Research Sub-center experimental site between 2013 and 2020 with improved south Ethiopian coffee selections to determine appropriate Vertical number and topping practices for enhanced yield and yield component. Four vertical or bearing head number and topping practices (Topped single stem, Topped multiple stems, Untopped multiple stems, and Free Growth) were used as treatments and laid out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications, to identify the effects of old coffee tree stumping and number of verticals with topping practice. Analysis of variance revealed that; clean coffee yields and growth parameters were significantly influenced by the different numbers of verticals and also topping practice. The analysis of variance also revealed highly significant yield variations among topping practice and the number of verticals. Free growth and topped multiple stems revealed the highest and statically similar yield performance throughout the cropping season as compared to the other treatments. Therefore, these finding indicates that topping practice and the number of verticals significantly promoted the yield responses of Arabica coffee cultivars under field condition. Therefore, topping multiple stems and free growth were selected as a promising practice to enhance coffee yield and yield components.

RETRACTED: Response of intercropping coffee (Coffea arabica L.) with banana (Musa spp.) on yield, yield components, and quality of coffee

AbstractThe coffee plant (Coffea arabica L.) is thought to have begun as an understory tree species in Ethiopia's northeastern high rain forests. Bananas (Musa spp.) are commonly intercropped with coffee to provide shade as well as food and money. However, the effect of this practice on coffee production is little known, hence the present study was initiated with the objective of evaluating the effect of intercropping coffee with banana on the yield and quality of both crops. The experiment was carried out using mature coffee intercropped with banana (var. Butezua) in different ratios in Kalu district, northeastern Ethiopia between the 2018 and 2020 cropping seasons. It was conducted in a randomized complete block design with three replications of four intercropping ratios (4C:1B, 3C:1B, 2C:1B, and 1C:1B) and two sole cropped plots (sole coffee, C; and sole banana, B). Over years, analysis of variance showed that intercropping of coffee and banana highly significantly (p &lt; .01) influenced yield and growth parameters, such as clean coffee (a coffee free of taints and defects) yield, total plant height, number of main stem nodes, main stem internode length, number and percent of bearing primary branches, number of fruiting nodes per branch, canopy diameter, leaf length, leaf width, and leaf area of coffee trees. Similarly, coffee bean length, bean width, bean thickness, height up to the first primary branch, and number of primary branches were significantly (p &lt; .05) affected by the treatments. In general, the results revealed that among the intercropped treatments, the staggered planting pattern (4C:1B) gave the maximum clean coffee yield (1,357.3 kg ha−1) and fresh banana fruit yield (20,482 kg ha−1) followed by the 3C:1B treatment, which gave (1,346.5 and 21,321 kg ha−1) clean coffee and green banana yields, respectively. In addition, higher mean land equivalent ratios (LER) of 1.78 and 1.61 and maximum net benefits of 316,265.50 and 302,484.00 Ethiopian birr (ETB) ha−1 were obtained from 4C:1B and 3C:1B, respectively. Therefore, it can be concluded that farmers in the Kalu area and similar agro‐ecologies can use these two ratios when practicing coffee–banana intercropping. Further intercropping studies may be required to validate the present results over locations.

Post-harvest evaluation of Arabica and Robusta coffee for physical, mechanical and aerodynamic properties

Knowledge about physicomechanical and aerodynamic properties is indispensable for any crop that undergoes post-harvest processing; coffee is no exception. These properties are the most crucial parameters for designing and developing processing machinery and storage structure. As far as coffee is concerned, these properties are imperative for designing dryers, hullers, peeler-cum-polisher and size graders. Though coffee is one of the leading plantation crops in India, published reports on physical, mechanical and aerodynamic properties are rather limited. In this direction, a study was attempted to generate data in respect of physical (length, width, thickness, volume, surface area, thousand seed weight, bulk density, true density and porosity), mechanical (angle of repose and co-efficient of friction) and aerodynamic (terminal velocity) property in different coffee types (parchment, cherry and clean coffees of both Arabica and Robusta varieties). At the prescribed moisture content of 11 per cent, the length, width, thickness, volume and surface area were significantly higher (p=0.05) in cherry coffee, followed by parchment and clean coffees. The porosity, bulk density and true density were found in the order of 45 to 58 per cent, 395 to 466 kg m-3 and 856 to 944 kg m-3 for cherry, 56 to 57 per cent, 400 to 410 kg m-3, 950 to 966 kg m-3 for parchment and 37.5 to 44 per cent, 691 to 780 kg m-3 and 1,106 to 1,401 kg m-3 for clean coffee, respectively. There were no significant differences between coffee types in respect of angle of repose, co-efficient of friction and terminal velocity. The data generated under this study can be harnessed while configuring or improving the coffee processing machinery and helps achieve the final product with desirable quality characteristics.

Genotype by Environment Interaction and Yield Stability of Coffee (Coffea arabica L.) Genotypes Evaluated in Western Ethiopia

ABSTRACT The performance of genotypes under diverse environments can be used to determine their adaptability and stability. However, information on the performance of coffee genotypes in various environmental conditions is limited. Thus, this study’s objectives were to estimate genotype by environment interaction (GEI), evaluate the mean performance and stability of 16 fruity flavored coffee genotypes in eight specialty coffee growing environments in western Ethiopia, and assess the magnitude of correlations among different stability parameters. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with two replications. For coffee yield, data were recorded and a combined analysis of variance and stability analysis were performed. Additive main effect and multiplicative interaction (AMMI) analysis revealed that genotypes, environments, and GEI showed highly significant differences (P < .0.01) for coffee bean yield. AMMI analysis also revealed that 73.2% of the GEI sum of squares for coffee bean yield was accounted for by the first three interaction principal component axes (IPCA). The standard check variety G16 (Menesibu), G3(W54/99), and G10 (W107/99) gave the highest average yields of 1537, 1458 and 1375 kg of clean coffee per hectare across environments, respectively. Despite no genotypes consistently performing well across environments due to the high GEI, G1 (W13/99) and G5 (W54/99) were relatively stable. Therefore, these were recommended as useful genetic resources for breeding of high-yielding genotypes. However, since all the genotypes gave a mean yield below the standard check variety, additional genotypes should be tested in more environments to develop stable and high-yielding coffee varieties.

The production of pak choy (Brassica rapa L) based on cleaner coffee production

The environmental damage that is happening in Indonesia is getting bigger. Industrial activity waste is becoming more and more and creates pollution. The waste reduction process strategy can be done by collaborating, between agronomic technical applications and clean production. The purpose of this writing shows that the clean production process in the coffee industry can be collaborated through the development of healthy vegetables through the use of coffee waste after processing it into by-products (compost and liquid fertilizer). Hope can provide knowledge and an overview for the coffee farming community on how to apply this clean production concept to their industry. The production process is clean through energy efficiency and will ultimately result in minimization of useful waste again. The experiment used a randomized design. Treatment groups consisted of: the first composition (NPK compound fertilizer + Nasa liquid fertilizer + coffee compost); The second composition (NPK compound fertilizer + coffee waste liquid fertilizer + coffee compost); The third composition (liquid Nasa fertilizer + coffee waste liquid fertilizer + coffee compost). Growth variables consisted of plant height, number of leaves and leaf width; Production variables consist of weight / plant and weight / plot. The results obtained by the utilization of coffee production waste (coffee husk compost and coffee waste liquid fertilizer) are recommended to support clean coffee production, able to increase Pak Choy’s (Brassica rapa L) production per sample and area.

Yield and Yield Advantage of the Component Crops as Affected by Strip Intercropping of Coffee (&lt;i&gt;Coffea arabica&lt;/i&gt; L.) with Pineapple (&lt;i&gt;Ananas comosus&lt;/i&gt; L.)

Intercropping has a number of advantages over mono-cropping production system, which has significant problems and that there are sufficient justification for studying intercropping approaches. Consequently, researchers have proposed a systematic intercropping approach to evaluate the benefits of strip intercropping in terms of yield advantage, economic return, yield stability, pest control, nutrient use efficiency, etc. However, because of these advantages, intercropping is practiced in many parts of the world, especially in developing countries like Ethiopia. A field experiment was conducted at Awada Agriculture Research Sub-center during 2012 and 2019 to evaluate the effect of strip intercropping ratios of coffee with pineapple on the yield and yield components of both crops and to determine economically optimum coffee to pineapple strip intercropping ratio for the study area. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Coffee variety (Fayate) and Smooth Cayenne Pineapple variety were used. The experiment was comprised five treatments: sole coffee, sole Pineapple, 1C:1, 1:2, and 1:3 ratio of coffee with pineapple. The pooled mean analysis revealed that the sole planted coffee and pineapple were produced statically highest yields in contrast with other intercropped treatments. Regarding strip intercropping treatments, the highest and lowest clean coffee yield were recorded at 1C:1P (1289 kg ha^-1) and 1C:2P (1128 kg ha^-1) treatments. The highest total land equivalent ratio was recorded at 1C:3P (1.50), closely followed by 4C:1P (1.36), 1C:1P (1.32), and 1C:2P (1.23) or a relative yield advantage of 23 to 50% was obtained from the coffee-Pineapple strip intercropping treatments. Therefore, this finding recommend that strip intercropping of coffee with pineapple at 1C:3P ratio is a viable option for sustainable productivity in yield and yield profit to farmers as revealed by the highest total LER.

Progress of Soil Fertility and Soil Health Management Research for Arabica Coffee Production in Ethiopia

Soil degradation is one of Ethiopia's most severe concerns, contributing for the country's low coffee production. Researchers have been conducted by different organizations for the past five decades to ameliorate the challenges. The goal of this review was to summarize and document major research achievements recorded so far and recommend future research directions. As a result, mixing coffee pulp and husk in the composting pile with organic elements like farm yard manure and leguminous plants generates nutritionally high-quality compost in 45 days. In terms of increasing coffee yield, decomposed coffee husk (DCH) was found to be superior to <i>Sesbaniasesban</i> compost. Compost application rates of 5 to 10 tons ha^-1 (2 to 4 kg tree^-1 in dry weight base) and an equal proportion of soil incorporation and surface (50:50%) application techniques were found to be superior in increasing coffee yield. 50% recommended NP mineral fertilizer (RMF) (172 and 77 kg ha^-1 NP, respectively) + 50% recommended (DCH (10 ton ha^-1 or 4 kg tree^-1 on a dry weight basis), 50% RMF + 75% DCH, and <i>Desmodium</i>spp (green manure crop) + RMF (172 and 63 kg ha^-1 NP, respectively) significantly (<I>P</I>≤0.05) promote clean coffee yield at Agaro, Haru and Jimma, respectively. Forest soil or blends of top soils, compost and sand in 3:1:0 and 2:1:1 ratio, or organic manure and top soil mixture in 1:4, 2:4 and 3:4 ratios, produced strong and healthy coffee seedlings. A nursery pot amended with 750 mg P pot^-1 (2.5 kg soil) and 2.31 g lime + 250 mg P pot^-1 and 10 g lime + 800 mg P pot^-1 produced released pure line and hybrid seedlings, respectively, with superior dry matter yield at Jimma. Similarly, at Haru, an application of 4 g pot^-1 lime + 12.5 g pot^-1 DCH and 18.75 g pot^-1 DCH was a promising ameliorating management for acid soil for production of vigorous coffee seedlings for field planting. Future research should concentrate on evaluating other organic inputs and combined reclamation of lime-mineral fertilizer-compost, frequency of application, economic benefits, and long-term effects on soil physicochemical properties, coffee yield and bean quality, and establish cost effective soil fertility management in coffee-growing areas of the country. Furthermore, timely revision and calibration of mineral fertilizer recommendations made in the past with newly released coffee genotypes has become critical.

Effects of Lime on Phosphorus Availability and Nutrient Uptake of Hybrid Coffee (&amp;lt;i&amp;gt;Coffea arabica&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt; L.) Seedlings Under Acidic Nursery Soil

Coffee (<i>Coffea arabica </i>L.) is one of the major cash crops which were widely grown in west, south and south west parts of Ethiopia. There is wider genetic diversity in the country but the average clean coffee production is very low 0.7 ton/ha compared with other coffee producing countries. The low production was arises from erroneous management of the plant during the initial stage of establishment by using of improper nursery growing media and other field managements. The research was conducted at Jimma Agricultural Research Center nursery site in lata house to evaluate the effects of lime on the availability of phosphorus fertilizer and nutrient uptakes of coffee seedlings. The treatments consists five lime rates (0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 g) 2.5 kg^-1 and four phosphorus mineral fertilizer rates (0, 400, 600 and 800 mg) 2.5 kg^-1 of soil. The experiment was arranged in factorial randomized complete block design with three replications. Soil samples were taken before planting and after harvesting. Representative leaf samples were taken and both soil and leaf samples were analyzed. The result reviled that applications of 10g lime and 800 mg P rates improves the soil parameters and nutrient uptake of coffee seedlings under nursery conditions.

Diatomaceous Earth as a Source of Silicon and its Impact on Soil Physical and Chemical Properties, Yield and Quality, Pests and Disease Incidence of Arabica Coffee cv. Chandragiri

To assess the impact of Diatomaceous Earth (DE) as a source of silicon on soil physical-chemical properties, yield attributes and clean coffee yield of Arabica coffee cv. Chandragiri, field experiments were conducted during the year 2017-18 and 2018-19 at Central Coffee Research Institute, Karnataka, India. Study revealed that, different doses of DE as soil application and as foliar spray (3 times) significantly increased the soil available silicon status from 38.19 to 41.63 mg kg− 1in 2018, 34.16 to 49.28 mg kg− 1 in 2019 and 36.18 to 46.04 mg kg− 1 on pooled basis and leaf available content from 0.40 to 0.79% in 2018, 0.43 to 0.83% in 2019 and 0.42 to 0.81% on pooled basis, respectively as compared to T1 − 100% RDF (Control). In addition, it enhanced the uptake of major nutrients and reduced the incidence of micronutrient during both the years of study and on pooled basis. Among different treatments, T7 -treatment supplemented with 100% RDF + 200 kg DEha− 1 + 0.5% foliar spray @ 3 times recorded significantly highest clean coffee yield (731 kg ha− 1) which was statistically on par (702 kg ha− 1) with T8- 75% RDF + 200 kg DE ha− 1 + 0.5% foliar spray @ 3 times during both the years of study increase in yield 27.63% as compared to T1- 100% RDF (Control) (529 cc kg ha− 1). The same trend was noticed in coffee beans grades, nutrients status in plants and post-harvest nutrient status in the soil. The impact of DE on pest and disease incidence could not be established either of the seasons, in a convincing manner. The net return and B: C ratio was highest in T7 (1.43) and T8 (1.40) compared with T3 (1.02). The study emphasized that use of silicon in Arabica coffee plantation is an alternative material which can be used for improving soil fertility and supplementary input for improving the production in coffee.

The effect of modified pruning and planting systems on growth, yield, labour use efficiency and economics of Arabica coffee

The economics of coffee plantations is intrinsically linked to pruning, which can improve the canopy architecture and thereby increase use efficiency. However, in India, recommended pruning methods viz., light, medium and hard pruning on Arabica coffee plantations have been highly labour intensive. The labour constitutes about 60 % towards cost of cultivation of coffee. In this study, the modified pruning and planting systems were investigated on Arabica coffee cv. Chandragiri and assessed for growth, yield and labour productivity at Central Coffee Research Institute, India over a period of nine consecutive years (2010–2018). Experimental results revealed that all the growth attributes and clean coffee yield were significantly influenced by modified planting systems (hedge row and paired row) and pruning methods (cyclic and rock-n-roll). Correlation coefficient data indicated that growth parameters had shown positive and significant correlation with clean coffee yield (CC) due to effect of modified pruning and planting systems except plant height. Mean data showed that adoption of modified pruning and planting systems helped to get higher clean coffee yield (1316 kg/ha), about 22–55 % of labour savings and maximum cost: benefit ratio of 1:2 could be achieved over traditional system of pruning and planting system. These results suggest that modified pruning methods facilitate vertical growth of coffee plants and thereby provide huge scope for high density planting system without compromising the yield. Further, an efficient labour force and adequate supply of human labour is the basic requirement for successful commercial cultivation of coffee. Hence, modified pruning methods such as cyclic and rock-n-roll pruning could be an option for improving the labour productivity of Indian coffee plantation.

Effect of Integrated Weed Management on Coffee Growth and Yield at Metu and Haru in South west and West Ethiopia

A field experiment was conducted to evaluate different single and integrated weed management methods on the growth and yield of coffee at Metu and Haru sub centers of Jimma Agricultural Research Center (JARC) between 2014-2018 cropping seasons. At Metu eight treatments were compared in randomized complete block design with three replications. The treatments included the following: (T1) One slash in May + one slash in August,(T2) Three slashing (May+Jully+Augesst), (T3) Roundup 3L/ha. sprayed in may followed by one slashing in July followed by vetivar grass mulching in September , (T4) Roundup 3L/ha.sprayed in May followed by soybean intercropping in July followed by mulching in September , (T5) Roundup 3L/ha. sprayed in May haricot bean intercropping in June followed by mulching in September , (T6) Roundup 3L/ha (only for the first year) Desmodium cover crop all year round permanently , (T7) Vetch cover crop in June followed with one hand weeding , and (T8). Weed free (plots kept weed free all year round). At Haru nine treatments were compared in randomized complete block design with three replications. The treatments included: (T1)one to two times slashing (farmers practice), (T2) three slashing in May, June and July, (T3) four slashing in May, June, July and August, (T4) Round up 3L/ha. sprayed in May followed by slashing followed by mulching followed by slashing and followed by mulching: (T5) slashing followed by Roundup 3L/ha. followed by coffee husk mulching: (T6) Roundup 3L/ha followed by desmodium cover cropping: (T7) Roundup 3L/ha followed by vetch cover cropping: (T8) Roundup 3L/ha followed by soybean intercropping followed by mulching: and (T9) Weed free (plots kept weed free all year round).. The result raveled that at both locations the major weed species included perennial sedges, perennial grasses, and annual broad leaf At Metu herbicide followed by soybean intercropping and followed by mulching in September gave a mean yield of 13.6 quintal clean coffee. Similarly, desmodium cover cropping provided excellent weed control and resulted in mean yield of 13.7 q/ha clean coffee .Desmodium showed a high smothering effect of the highly competitive perennial sedges and grasses by inhibiting the incoming light reaching the soil compared with other treatments and the weed free treatment.. At Haru Roundup 3L/ha followed by slashing followed by mulching followed by slashing and followed by mulching gave consistently very high coffee yield with a mean yield of 21 quintal /ha. compared with other treatments. The weed free treatment gave low yield at both locations. Vetch and desmodium did not well established at Haru compared with Metu. DOI: 10.7176/DCS/10-7-02 Publication date: July 31 st 2020

Response of Selected Tall Hybrid Coffea arabica Varieties to N, P and K Nutrients in Tanzania

The growth and yield response of some of TaCRI’s improved tall Coffea arabica hybrids to applied N, P and K were assessed in this work; since, in addition to resistance to CBD and CLR, they are also high yielding (up to 3 t ha-1 against 1.5 t ha-1 of the traditional varieties) and assumed also to be highly nutrient demanding. A split plot RCBD was applied with three replications, five coffee varieties (N39-8, N39-9, N39-11, N39-12 and KP 423 old variety check) as main factors and 4 fertilizer rates (75, 112.5 and 150 g tree-1, together with 37.5g + 10 kg of FYM) as sub factors. Each rate was applied three times per year except FYM which was applied once in two years. Data on canopy width, stem girth, number of bearing primaries, plant height, berry clusters and yields were collected and subjected to ANOVA using Statistica V7 software with means separated using Fisher LSD method at α = 0.05. Variety KP 423 showed a significantly (p<0.05) wider canopy and more berry clusters than the test varieties. N39-8 excelled in number of branches, stem girth and tree height. It also gave higher yield (1894 kg clean coffee ha-1) which was significantly different (p<0.05) from other varieties. Plant height, stem girth and yield response to the fertilizer options showed an asymptotic relationship with the turning point at 112.5 g tree-1. Interaction between Variety N39-8 and 37.5g tree-1 + FYM resulted into significantly higher yield (2436 Kg clean coffee ha-1). It is tentatively concluded that the assumed high nutrient demand for the new varieties is unlikely, at least in the first four years. As such, 37.5g tree-1 of NPK (20:10:10) applied three times per year + 10 kg of FYM per tree applied once in two years; or 75g of NPK (20:10:10) per tree if applied three times per year is enough for the test varieties under this age.

English

The experiment was conducted by using seven released coffee varieties at three locations in southern Ethiopia, Halaba, Loka Abaya and Dilla, to select coffee varieties with higher yield and tolerant to low soil moisture stress. It was arranged in RCBD having three replications. The result indicated that the varieties showed significant difference on main stem diameter, plant height at harvesting, plant height up to the first branch, number of primary branches, number of secondary branches, number of tertiary branches, number of main stems, fruiting nodes per branch (FNPB), number of beans per cherry (NBPC), canopy diameter, leaf area, number of leaves per branch, number of leaves per tree (NLPT), hundred bean weight (HBW), weight of fresh husk (WHF), weight of dried husk (WHD), weight of fresh husked bean (WHBF), and weight of dried husked bean (WHBD). Stand count at harvest (STCNT), leaf length (LL), leaf width (LW), bean thickness (BTH), bean length (BL), bean yield per tree (YPT), bean yield per plot (YPP), bean yield per hectare (YPHA) and weight of husked clean coffee (WHCC) were not statistically significant. Location specific significant variations were observed on some of the variables such as stand count, leaf length, and leaf width at Halaba; yield per tree, yield per plot, yield per hectare and weight of husked clean coffee were significant at all the three locations despite their non-significant value while combined. The coffee variety Catimor J-19 performed best at all location with respect to fresh bean yield and dried clean coffee followed by Angafa. Thus they can be promoted for larger commercial production at tested locations and locations with similar agro-ecological conditions. Key words: Coffea arabica, husked coffee, clean coffee, agroecology.

Adaptability and Performance Evaluation of Coffee (&amp;lt;i&amp;gt;coffea arabica&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt; l.) Varieties on Growth, Yield and Assosiation of Traits at Mid Highland Area of Western Ethiopia

The bases of the idea to conduct this field experiment was the uses of the coffee and the suitable agro-ecology of mao-komo special distinct area, which have relatively the same ecology with potential coffee producing area of western wellega. To identifying adaptable coffee varieties that could exhibit higher yield to maximize coffee production and productivity to the environments of mao-komo special distinct, western Ethiopia, in order to diversify their production and to maximize the income of the farmers in the area. Based on this fact, a field experiment was conducted using six released coffee varieties, arranged with a randomized complete block design with three replicates to select varieties which could exhibit relatively better performance at the area. Those varieties were planted at a spacing of 2 m by 2 m between plants and rows, respectively and were evaluated for yield and yield components. They were grown with shade of Susbaniasusben. From the evaluated varieties it was noted that parameters as plant height, height up to primary branch, internodes length on main stem, canopy diameter, clean coffee yield had significant difference (p<0.05) among the varieties and the highest clean Coffee yield (1392.9, 1338.5 and 1100 Kg ha-1) was scored by the 75227, 7440 and F59 varieties respectively. On the contrary 74110 exhibited least mean yields of 860.1 Kg of clean coffee per hectare. Based on the yield performance 75227 and 7440 varieties were recommended to producers of coffee at Mao-komo area and demonstration needs to be investigated.

Intercropping of Coffee with Enset (&amp;lt;i&amp;gt;Enset ventricosum&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt; Welw. Cheesman) at Teppi, Southwestern Ethiopia

Intercropping is an excellent system of cropping which achieves a diversified and intensified crop production through better utilization of growth resources and inputs. An experiment was conducted at Teppi Agricultural Research Center from 2011 to 2015 cropping calendar to determine optimum intercropping ratios of coffee and enset that enhances yield productivity and land-use efficiency. The study consisted of six treatments viz., sole cropping of each crop, a staggered planting of both crops, 1:1, 2:1, 3:1 row ratios of coffee to enset, respectively. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications. A lowland coffee variety (Catimor J-19) and local enset variety were used. The result revealed that the growth parameters of both coffee and enset were not significantly influenced by intercropping, except the internode length of coffee primary branches. However, the yields of the component crops were significantly (p<0.05) affected by different ratios of intercropping. The maximum clean coffee yield was obtained from the sole coffee plot (1127.68 kg ha^-1) followed by the staggered plot (1082.04 kg ha^-1). Similarly, the highest kocho (44167 kg ha^-1) and bulla (1734.70 kg ha^-1) yields were also found from the sole enset plot. On the other hand, the combined yields of the component crops in all intercropped plots were higher than the sole plots and the LER value was greater than 1. The maximum relative yield advantage of coffee and LER value was recorded from the staggered plot followed by the plot consists of a 3:1 row ratio of coffee to enset. In general, the result was disclosed the agronomic feasibilities of coffee and enset intercropping and the compatibility of the component crops as well. Therefore, it can be concluded that staggered planting of coffee and enset is a suitable cropping arrangement for enhancing the yield productivity of the component crops and ensuring food security for the resource-poor farmers. Thus, the aforementioned planting arrangement can be recommended for farmers and growers in the study area. Nevertheless, additional researches are required in different agro-ecologies of the country with economic feasibility studies to deliver a concrete recommendation.

Impacts of Adoption of Improved Coffee Varieties on Farmers’ Coffee Yield and Income in Jimma Zone

This study was conducted in four districts of Jimma zone namely Gera, Manna, Limu Kosa and Gomma to estimate the relative benefits of use of improved coffee varieties on adopters’ livelihood (income) and yield. Multistage sampling technique was employed to select the population for the study which involved both purposive and random sampling techniques. Data was collected through structured questionnaire administered to sampled farmers. Both descriptive and inferential statistics, and econometric models were used to analyze the gathered and cleaned data. The impact of adoption of the improved coffee varieties on yield and income was estimated using propensity score matching (PSM) technique. The result of the survey revealed that the mean adoption rate of improved coffee cultivars was 53.56%. The mean overall clean coffee yield per hectare was 769kg/ha which is higher than the national average estimated by CSA (710kg/ha) by 8.3%. On other hands, the mean clean coffee yield per hectare of land for adopters is significantly higher (861 kg) than their non-adopters counter parts (646kg). To extract the net increment due to use of improved coffee varieties, PSM was run. Accordingly, from the total increment the use of improved coffee varieties increased clean coffee yield per hectare by 25.3-28.8% over the non-adopters. Concomitantly, the use of improved coffee varieties increased coffee income by 33.6-46.6 % and total income by 25.8-44.1% over non-adopters using different matching algorithms. Government and non-government organizations need to emphasize on diffusion of improved coffee technologies to their maximum capacity. This would increase their productivity per unit of land which in turn raise farmers’ income and livelihood.

Forecasting prices of coffee seeds using Vector Autoregressive Time Series Model

Forecasts of agricultural prices are useful to the farmers, policymakers and agribusiness industries. In this globalized world, management of food security in the developing countries like India where agriculture is dominated needs efficient and reliable price forecasting models. In the present study, Vector Autoregression (VAR) has been applied for modeling and forecasting of monthly wholesale price of clean coffee seeds in different coffee consuming centers, viz. Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad. Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) test has been used for testing the stationarity of the time series. The appropriate VAR model is selected based on minimum Akaike Information Criterion (AIC). The VAR model obtained is compared with the Auto Regressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) models with respect to forecast accuracy measures. The residuals of the fitted models were diagnosed for possible presence of autocorrelation and Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity (ARCH) effects.

English

Estimation of genetic parameters is pertinent as variability within population determines the extent of improvement achieved through crop improvement methods. In view of this, forty-nine coffee (Coffea arabica L.) germplasm accessions, which were collected from Gomma Woreda, were evaluated at Agaro with the objectives of assessing genetic variability, heritability and genetic advance for morphological traits. The experiment was conducted in simple lattice design with two replications. Data on 26 quantitative characters were recorded. The result revealed significant differences (p<0.05) among the accessions for most of the traits studied. The phenotypic coefficients of variation (PCV) was greater than genotypic coefficients of variation (GCV) for all the characters studied, this shows the influence of environmental factors on the characters. Estimates of variability indicated that high phenotypic (PCV) and genotypic coefficients of variation (GCV) were recorded for coffee berry disease (CBD) severity and yield per tree. High heritability was recorded for hundred bean weight (80.21%), number of nodes of primary branches (67.89%), stem diameter (67.16%), height up to first primary branch (66.6%), bean length (62.79%), bean width (61.43%), average inter node length of primary branches (58.33%), angle of primary branches (53.32%), leaf width (52.94%) and canopy diameter (51.95%). The high GAM were recorded for coffee berry disease reaction (88.86%), clean coffee yield per tree (24.03%), number of secondary branches per tree (22.34%), height up to first primary branch (20%) and hundred bean weight (20%). High heritability was coupled with high genetic advance as percent of mean for characters such as hundred bean weight and height up to first primary branch. The high heritability with high genetic advance as percent of mean observed for these characters is due to the lesser influence of environment in expression of the characters and additive gene effects. The present study indicated the presence of variability for some important morphological traits among the accessions. Therefore, the variability observed for yield, disease resistance and other important traits should be utilized to improve Gomma woreda coffee. However, since high morphological variation between accessions is not a guarantee for a high genetic variation, molecular and biochemical studies need to be considered as complementary to morphological variability. On the other hand, as most of the traits exhibited low GCV and/or low GAM, there is no opportunity to improve these traits using simple selection. Therefore, heterosis breeding should be applied to improve these traits. Key words: Coffee germplasm, genetic variability, disease resistance, simple lattice, hundred bean weight.