Coffee Accessions Research Articles

Population Genetic Characteristics of the Cultivated Coffea arabica with Whole-Genome Resequencing

Coffea arabica L. (C. arabica) is an economically important agricultural crop and the most popular beverage worldwide. To analyze genetic diversity and provide genetic resources for the selection and breeding of superior varieties of C. arabica, 61 cultivated Arabica coffee accessions were analyzed in the study, including 12 resequencing accessions from previous research and 49 accessions that were resequenced in this study. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and insertion–deletions (InDels) were statistically analyzed. Based on SNP variations, a genetic structure analysis, phylogenetic tree construction, and principal component analysis were performed for the 61 coffee accessions. The results showed that a total of 805.46 Gb of raw whole-genome resequencing data was obtained from the 61 coffee accessions, with 781.29 Gb of high-quality sequencing data after filtering. In total, 7,013,820 SNP sites and 1,074,329 InDel sites were detected. The average sequencing depth ranged from 6.69× to 19.35×, and the coverage ranged from 85.49% to 96.43%. The population genetic structure and phylogenetic analysis of the 61 coffee accessions revealed four lineages, suggesting that they had at least four ancestral genetic components. Catimor exhibited the highest genetic diversity, while Geisha had the lowest genetic diversity. The selective sweep analysis indicated that among the selected genes in Catimor, disease-resistance genes were significantly more numerous than in other coffee varieties. The genome resequencing data and genetic markers identified from the 61 cultivated Arabica coffee materials provided insights into the genetic variation in Arabica coffee germplasm and facilitated extensive genetic research.

Association and Path Coefficient Analysis of Some Arsi Coffee Accesions (<i>Coffea arabica </i>L.) for Quality Traits at Mechara, Ethiopia

Coffee is still one of Ethiopian’s primary agricultural export crops accounting for more than 25% of export earnings. Arsi coffee is known to produce Harar C coffee quality grade and known for its unique flavor and aroma. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine association among coffee bean quality traits and, the direct and indirect effects of bean quality traits on overall quality of coffee. A total of 56 Arsi coffee accessions and four Hararghe coffee varieties were evaluated for bean physical and organoleptic coffee quality traits using Completely Randomized Design with three replications. The analysis of variance results showed significant variation among Arsi coffee accession for all traits except astringency, bitterness, and odor. The overall coffee quality had positive and significant phenotypic and genotype correlations with aromatic intensity, aromatic quality, acidity, body, flavor, overall standard quality and overall cup quality. These traits also had positive direct effects on overall coffee quality however; aromatic intensity and body exerted negligible negative direct effects at genotypic level whereas aromatic quality had negative direct effect at phenotypic level. All these traits through overall standard quality, and aromatic intensity, aromatic quality and acidity via each other and through body and flavor exerted positive direct effects on overall coffee quality at genotypic level. Thus majority of quality traits could be used for indirect selection of genotypes for overall coffee quality.

Genetic parameters and chemical characterization of conilon coffee accessions under irrigation in the Cerrado

The objective of this study was to identify the genetic, phenotypic and environmental parameters related to chemical compounds associated with beverage quality in a conilon coffee collection, grown in an irrigated system, in the Cerrado. The experiment was carried out at Embrapa Cerrados using green grains harvested in two years from 84 genotypes of the cultivar Robusta Tropical. Caffeine content, protein, ether extract, total soluble solids, pH and titratable acidity were evaluated. The data were subjected to analysis of variance. Significant differences were observed at 1% probability among accessions for all evaluated chemical characteristics in both harvest years. The high heritability, genetic coefficients of variation and selective accuracy reveal the potential for achieving genetic gains via the selection of genotypes adapted to the irrigated system in the Cerrado combined with high beverage quality.

Behavior of 33 coffee (Coffea sp.) accessions of the Catimor type in San Ramón, Chanchamayo, Perú

Coffee has been cultivated in Peru for over 100 years, and since then, various commercial varieties have been introduced, mostly informally, although this approach has been changing in recent years, benefiting national coffee farming. Within this context, documenting the presence of Catimors is necessary, as it is an important group of varieties with presence in all coffee-producing areas. This study aimed to understand the characteristics of 33 Catimor-type coffee accessions in San Ramón, Chanchamayo, Peru. The study was conducted during the 2018-2019 coffee growing season. The location was at the Coffee Germplasm Bank of the National Agrarian University La Molina (BGC-UNALM), located on the "La Génova" estate, in San Ramón, Chanchamayo, Peru, at an altitude of 965 meters above sea level, 11°05.70' LS and 75°20.969' LO. Thirty-three accessions were analyzed with 5 replications each, evaluating the incidence of rust (%), infestation level of coffee berry borer (%), number of harvests, weight of one hundred ripe fruits (g), weight of pulp of one hundred ripe fruits (g), weight of one hundred seeds (g), cherry coffee yield (quintal [qq] ha-1), dry parchment coffee yield (qq ha-1), and the ratio of dry parchment coffee to cherry coffee. Considering that the finalweight in kg of each field harvest was obtained and then transformed into quintals (1 qq equals 46 kg). The results showed that Catimors are a group of varieties whose main characteristic is resistance to coffee rust. In this trial, 11 out of the 33 evaluated accessions had zero incidence, meaning they showed no symptoms of the disease during the study period. They also showed a high yield of dry parchment coffee; in this case, the most outstanding accessions were UNACAF-70 and UNACAF-114, with 54.582 qq ha-1and 42.88 qq ha-1; respectively. It was concluded that Catimors can be used in integrated management programs for coffee rust in Peru due to their resistance to coffee rust and high yield.

Reaction of Gidami Coffee Collections against the Major Diseases

Ethiopia's largest export commodity is coffee arabica, one of the most significant goods that significantly contribute to the national economy. However, diseases including coffee berry, coffee leaf rust, and coffee wilt have been significantly reducing its yield. In order to assess Gidami coffee arabica accessions’ reaction to serious fungal infections, this study was started. The total of 100 genotypes was evaluated under Gera and Haru field situations for these major diseases. Whereas, 92 accessions with two checks were tested under greenhouse condition for coffee wilt. The results showed a highly significant variation (p<0.001) among genotypes in both conditions with 0–51%, 4–36%, and 0–100% disease severity ranges respectively. Except the four accessions namely G67/13, G71/13, G54/13, and G66/13, most of them showed susceptible reactions to CBD under Gera conditions. As well, 36 and 12 coffee accessions revealed <10% CLR reactivity at Haru and Gera conditions respectively. But none of the accessions had resistance levels higher than the two checks (Challa and 8136) at either of the locations. In other word, Gera had much greater levels of CBD and CLR pressure than Haru. On the other hand, only two accessions, G57 and G20, showed 100% CWD survival rate in greenhouse environments. This study showed how plant genetics and environmental variables affect diseases development and demonstrated that the response of Gidami coffee accessions to the major coffee diseases highly influenced by geographical and genetic variables. Therefore, continual and massive genotype screening across the locations must be taken into account in order to get resistance genotypes as the best disease mitigation to overcome the coffee diseases problem.

Review on Genetic Diversity Analysis of Ethiopian Coffee Accessions Collected from Limmu Coffee Growing Areas

Review on Genetic Diversity Analysis of Ethiopian Coffee Accessions Collected from Limmu Coffee Growing Areas

Genetic diversity analysis of commercial Arabica coffee in Nepal using Molecular markers

Coffee is an established plant for its flavor and has high commercial use. In Nepal, the popularity of coffee is increasing for its high economic value. However, its diversity and the status of its genetic mapping have not been studied in Nepal. In the present study, the genetic diversity of 28 coffee accessions was assessed by using twenty-four SSR markers with the aim of studying the variation of coffee in accord with the genetic markers from a molecular approach. With the use of DNA extraction and marker selection for its amplification using PCR tools, a total of 81 loci from SSR were identified. Of all SSR 63.22% showed for mean polymorphism. The mean polymorphic information content of SSR was 0.38, which showed low genetic diversity of SSR markers among Coffea genotypes. On the basis of the SSR marker, the unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA) dendrogram constructed showed a similar group of distribution among 28 accessions, which was further supported by a principle coordinate analysis scatter plot. The phylogenetic relationships among the accessions were assessed by SSR marker, which also showed low diversity in coffee genotypes. Our study demonstrated the use of SSR markers in diversity analysis as the data were informative and highly reproducible for evaluating relationships among coffee cultivars in Nepal. The use of more markers systems and a high genotype pool would have been beneficial in accessing more accurately. Regardless, the information from the phylogenetic relationship study could be useful for breeding, varietal improvement, and for conservation programs.

Resistance Evaluation of Gurage Coffee Accessions Against Coffee Berry Disease (Colletotrichum Kahawae Waller and Bridge)

Coffee Arabica is an important crop in the national economy of Ethiopia. Coffee berry disease (CBD), coffee wilt disease (CLD) and coffee leaf rust (CLR) are the most important coffee diseases in the country. Development of coffee cultivars for different localities having a character of diseases resistant, high yielding and quality coffee is important. Previous research works have little effort to provide varieties that are suitable for Gurage zone southern parts of Ethiopia. Hence, this study was carried out to evaluate Gurage coffee accessions against CBD. Evaluations of Gurage coffee accessions were conducted under field by Attach Berry Test and laboratory by Detach Berry Test methods in Randomized Complete Block Design and Completely Randomized Design, respectively in 2018. The study result indicated that Gurage coffee accessions Gu-18, Gu-1 and Gu-4 had lower CBD infection level in both field and laboratory experiment, which was 5.4, 8.29 and 11.37 and 32.5, 45.0 and 25.8 %, respectively. Those coffee accessions that showed low level of infection are an opportunity for further breading research work and could be the best alternatives to CBD management particularly for the study area. Future research should focus on evaluating the promising Gurage coffee accessions in seedling inoculation test and in multi-location field trials for several years.

Phenotypic and genotypic variability among exotic arabica coffee genotypes using morphological and molecular markers (SRAP)

Coffea arabica is said to have low genetic variability, however more information is still needed about the extent of diversity present in the arabica coffee gene pool by evaluating existing genetic resources present in India. The study therefore was conducted to assess the phenotypic and genotypic variability in arabica coffee germplasm accessions. Significant variation was observed among coffee accessions for the traits studied indicating the presence of diversity. Out of 20 traits, per cent ‘A’ grade bean contributed maximum to the diversity (63.29 %). The 41 arabica coffee accessions were grouped into six clusters. The maximum intra-cluster and inter cluster distance (D2 = 737.34) was revealed by cluster V (7 genotypes) and cluster II and VI (D2 = 8544.21), respectively. Principle Component Analysis displayed 79.50% of variability. Observations on Coffee Leaf Rust disease incidence showed that mean disease severity infection was ranged from 1.34 to 32.67%. On the other hand, molecular analysis of 10 SRAP primers established high rate of polymorphism with an average PIC value of 0.74. The UPGMA clustering grouped arabica coffee genotypes into two major clusters. The similarity matrix coefficient was ranged from 0 to 94%. SRAP marker demonstrated high polymorphism rate can be utilized for future crop improvement program in coffee. Study established high phenotypic but low genetic diversity among the arabica coffee accessions based on morphological and molecular markers, respectively and identified high yielding, coffee leaf rust disease resistant accessions which showed possibility of developing improved varieties through breeding.

Genetic diversity of ex-situ conserved Arabica cofee (Coffea arabica L.) accessions in Ethiopia as revealed by simple sequence repeats markers

So far, there has been limited use of molecular markers in arabica coffee breeding program in Ethiopia. The objectives of this study were to explore the effectiveness of simple sequence repeats markers (SSRs) in detecting polymor- phism and to assess the extent of genetic diversity and relationships among ex-situconserved Arabica coffee accessions. Sixty-two forest coffee accessions planted in the experimental plot of the Ethiopian coffee breeding program were evaluated using 14 SSR markers. These markers amplified a total of 100 alleles, varying from four to ten alleles per locus, with an average of 7.2 across all loci. The rate of polymorphism ranged from 75 to 100, with a mean value of 96.4 across the accessions. The polymorphic information content (PIC) varied from 0.26 to 0.92, with a mean value of 0.70. The genetic similarity coefficient values between 72% possible pair-wise combinations ranged from 0.18 to 0.50, with overall mean value of 0.44.The unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA) dendrogram based on Jaccard’s genetic similarity grouped the accessions into five main clusters and two singletons at <0.47 similarity coefficient value. These results indicate the effectiveness of the SSR markers in detecting polymorphism and the presence of a high level of genetic diversity and distant relatedness among the studied coffee accessions. The observed diversity could be exploited in the future coffee breeding program to develop heterotic hybrid coffee varieties through crossing of divergent parental lines. The highly informative SSRs markers can be also used in genetic analysis of Arabica coffee germplasm conserved in the field gene bank at Jimma Agricultural Research Center (JARC) to establish core collections for effective conservation, management and utilization purposes

Agro‐morphological characterization and diversity analysis of Coffea arabica germplasm collection from INIA, Peru

AbstractCoffee (Coffea arabica L.) plays a major role in the economy of Peru and the world. The present study aims to elucidate the agro‐morphological variability of coffee genotypes maintained in the National Institute of Agrarian Innovation (INIA) germplasm collection. Therefore, 20 vegetative, reproductive, and phytosanitary traits of 162 coffee accessions of INIA's germplasm collection were evaluated and analyzed. Correlation results indicate that a simultaneous selection of characters, such as number of branches per plant, number of nodes per branch, leaf area, and weight of a hundred fruits, can contribute to increase coffee yields. Additionally, coffee yield was negatively correlated with the incidence and severity of coffee leaf rust, and interestingly the occurrence of small and compact coffee plants with high resistance to the disease was also found. The analysis of Tocher and Mahalanobis D2 determined the formation of 10 groups of divergent coffee accessions; where clusters 1 (accession codes 20, 29, 38, 54, 67, 71, 117, 24, 26, and 27), 5 (accession codes 46 and 53), 9 (accession code 159), and 10 (accession code 203) group promising accessions that can be used in breeding programs. Principal component analysis showed that at least five of its principal components managed to explain 70.01% of the total variation in the collection. Finally, the high coefficients obtained for the phenotypic, genotypic, and heritability variation confirm the existence of additive genes in the evaluated population, that would ensure the success of coffee breeding programs based on the selection of traits of agronomic importance.

Discrimination of Green Coffee (Coffea arabica and Coffea canephora) of Different Geographical Origin Based on Antioxidant Activity, High-Throughput Metabolomics, and DNA RFLP Fingerprinting.

The genus Coffea is known for the two species C. arabica (CA) and C. canephora (CC), which are used to prepare the beverage coffee. Proper identification of green beans of coffee varieties is based on phenotypic and phytochemical/molecular characteristics. In this work, a combination of chemical (UV/Vis, HPLC-DAD-MS/MS, GC-MS, and GC-FID) and molecular (PCR-RFLP) fingerprinting was used to discriminate commercial green coffee accessions from different geographical origin. The highest content of polyphenols and flavonoids was always found in CC accessions, whereas CA showed lower values. ABTS and FRAP assays showed a significant correlation between phenolic content and antioxidant activity in most CC accessions. We identified 32 different compounds, including 28 flavonoids and four N-containing compounds. The highest contents of caffeine and melatonin were detected in CC accessions, whereas the highest levels of quercetin and kaempferol derivatives were found in CA accessions. Fatty acids of CC accessions were characterized by low levels of linoleic and cis octadecenoic acid and high amounts of elaidic acid and myristic acid. Discrimination of species according to their geographical origin was achieved using high-throughput data analysis, combining all measured parameters. Lastly, PCR-RFLP analysis was instrumental for the identification of recognition markers for the majority of accessions. Using the restriction enzyme AluI on the trnL-trnF region, we clearly discriminated C. canephora from C. arabica, whereas the cleavage performed by the restriction enzymes MseI and XholI on the 5S-rRNA-NTS region produced specific discrimination patterns useful for the correct identification of the different coffee accessions. This work extends our previous studies and provides new information on the complete flavonoid profile, combining high-throughput data with DNA fingerprinting to assess the geographical discrimination of green coffee.

Assessment of Genetic Diversity of Local Coffee Populations in Southwestern Saudi Arabia Using SRAP Markers

Coffea arabica, a member of the Rubiaceae family, is the most commercially important species of the genus Coffea. It has been grown on the mountain terraces of southwestern Saudi Arabia for centuries. At present, the species is subject to increased genetic erosion due to the abandonment of many gardens by their owners and the increasingly dry climate. The current study was carried out to determine the genetic diversity of 56 local coffee accessions collected from the southern regions of Saudi Arabia using 30 sequence-related amplified polymorphism (SRAP) markers. Six SRAP markers showed polymorphism among the 56 accessions. A total of 1125 bands, with an average of 187.5, was produced from all six SRAP primers. The polymorphic information content (PIC) ranged from 74.8 to 97.7, with an average of 91.4 for all studied SRAP markers. The high polymorphism percentage seen in this study, along with the high number of alleles produced and the high PIC values of the primers used, demonstrate that the SRAP approach was an effective molecular technique for assessing genetic diversity in the studied populations. The structural analysis showed a sharp peak, with no ambiguity, demonstrating the highest delta K value at K = 3 and K = 6, and the coffee accessions could be grouped into three and six main populations, respectively. The PCoA, cluster analysis, and structural population analysis results suggest considerable genetic diversity among coffee populations growing on the southwestern mountain terraces of Saudi Arabia. The 56 accessions were segregated into five groups, mostly according to geographic distribution. The accessions from the southern districts of Jazan region mostly clustered in groups 2 and 4, while the accessions from the northern districts of Al-Baha and Assir regions formed separate groups. Based on these analyses, accessions KSA1R, KSA6R, KSA21, KSA25, KSA37, KSA38, KSA42, KSA59, KSA60, KSA62, and KSA63 were the most divergent. The genotypes should be conserved for use in coffee-breeding programs to improve the agronomic value of the crop, broaden the genetic base of C. arabica in Saudi Arabia and increase environmental resilience. Additional molecular and functional genomics studies are necessary to further elucidate how this germplasm has evolved and enhance the value of local Arabica coffee diversity in the Kingdom.

Biochemical Composition Variation among Southern Ethiopian Arabica Coffee (Coffea arabica L.) Genotypes

Coffee (Coffea arabica L.) provides several health benefits to users due to its strong medicinal and nutritional properties and caloric value. Green bean proximate composition diversity is unknown among the coffee genotypes now cultivated in southern Ethiopia. The study’s major goals are to determine the variability in green bean proximate composition among coffee genotypes and to see if there are any relationships between green bean proximate attributes. Therefore, a nutritional laboratory experiment was carried out at Jimma University College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine (JUCAVM). Using the augmented design, a total of 104 entries were examined, including 100 accessions from southern Ethiopia and four standard checks. Each accession had data on 07 proximate composition parameters of green beans. The presence of significant ( P < 0.05 ) differences among the examined accessions for most of the traits considered was revealed by analysis of variance, and a wide range of variation was detected for several traits, indicating that the coffee germplasm accessions have high genetic variability. According to the findings, coffee beans have crude protein (6.93 to 10.14%), total lipids (8.89 to 16.08%), crude ash (2.51–5.47%), crude fiber (6.79–22.25%), dry matter (89.08 to 91.63%), carbohydrate (40.65 to 59.38%), and caloric value (307.39–382.77 k/calories). One hundred four arabica coffee accessions were grouped into ten distinct groups by 20 (19.23%), 21 (20.19%), 39 (37.50%), 12 (11.54%), 04 (3.85%), 03 (2.88%), 02 (1.92%), 01 (0.96%), 01 (0.96%), and 01 (0.96%). The majority of intercluster distances were significantly varied, showing that diversity exists that can be utilized through selection and hybridization. Clusters III and X had the greatest intercluster distance (D2 = 344.16), followed by clusters II and X (D2 = 236.33), VII and X (D2 = 199.04), and clusters VI and I (D2 = 106.25). Clusters I and IV had the smallest intercluster distance (D2 = 10.09), followed by II and IV (D2 = 10.66), and I and VI (D2 = 11.03). The first three principal components with eigenvalues larger than one explained 71.84% of the overall variation. In general, genotypes differed in green bean proximate composition and might be used as gene sources to generate future green bean varieties with appropriate biochemical composition.

Genetic Gain Trend in Yield and Advanced Selection of Yayo Coffee (Coffea arabica L.) Land Race Collection

Coffea arabica L., the dominant cash crop in the world market, is native to rain forest of Ethiopia where it is believed to exist with high genetic diversity. Estimating genetic parameters are momentous in deciding breeding method to be followed for crop genetic improvement including Arabica coffee. The study was conducted with the intention to gauge genetic gain trend in coffee yield and to select advanced promising lines of Yayo coffee landrace for the next breeding step. The study was laid down at Metu research subcenter in 2013, using 124 coffee accessions that were established in simple lattice design under two sets each comprising 62 accessions including two checks. The over six year’s pooled analysis of variance indicated the handiness variability in yield performance among accessions. Moderate genotypic variance (15.46 to13.56%), heritability (56.16–81%), and expected genetic gain (15.52–20.8%) were observed. The genetic parameters and the superiority of check in yield over accessions elucidated that high yielder variety development by selection is difficult unless heterosis attaining breeding method followed, particularly for these Yayo coffee landrace origin. Common high genetic gain trend (49.19 and 100 kg·ha−1) and response to selection (196.76 and 400 kg·ha−1), selection differential 471.9 and 739.23 kg·ha−1 were revealed in over four harvesting seasons mean value for both sets. Thus, selection is more effective in earlier season than late. High yielding accessions, Y27 and Y93, gave 3013.1 and 125.8 kg·ha−1 yield gain over the high yielder check correspondingly. Despite the top 15 and 10 high yielders were selected from set-I and set-II, respectively, a total of 20 accessions with contrasting desirable traits were selected and established in crossing block for genetic improvement purposes via heterotic hybrid variety development program. These accessions were tolerant to major coffee disease and have desirable agronomic traits.

Broadening the gene pool of Robusta coffee (C. canephora): Characterization and character association analysis of local collections based on agro-morphological traits

Genetic base-broadening of crop plants with local germplasm which are repositories of important alleles for key traits is vital to facilitate the breeding process and lead to the development of improved varieties. This study was to estimate the genetic variability among local Robusta coffee accessions and determine the relationships among agro-morphological traits to guide selection for improved variety development. The 166 accessions collected from seven localities in Ghana and unknown sources were planted in June 2011 in a randomized complete block design with four replications and assessed based on 14 agro-morphological traits. There were significant variation among the accessions for all the traits assessed adjudged by the wide trait ranges and relatively high coefficient of variations. Cluster analysis based on the unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic mean grouped the accessions into four main clusters with membership ranging from one in cluster II to 97 in cluster IV. The clustering indicated no parallelism between genetic and geographical diversities. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that five PCs which cumulatively accounted for 70.35% of the total variability were enough in explaining the diversity within the coffee accessions. Furthermore, the PCA showed that appearance, angle of lateral insertion, branching habit, diameter of laterals, number of nodes per lateral and yield were the key characters that discriminated the accessions and should be the primary focus in Robusta coffee improvement. The study provides evidence of the potential for broadening the gene pool of Robusta coffee through the use of local germplasm beyond foreign introductions in Ghana.

Whole-genome resequencing of Coffea arabica L. (Rubiaceae) genotypes identify SNP and unravels distinct groups showing a strong geographical pattern

BackgroundCoffea arabica L. is an economically important agricultural crop and the most popular beverage worldwide. As a perennial crop with recalcitrant seed, conservation of the genetic resources of coffee can be achieved through the complementary approach of in-situ and ex-situ field genebank. In Ethiopia, a large collection of C. arabica L. germplasm is preserved in field gene banks. Here, we report the whole-genome resequencing of 90 accessions from Choche germplasm bank representing garden and forest-based coffee production systems using Illumina sequencing technology.ResultsThe genome sequencing generated 6.41 billion paired-end reads, with a mean of 71.19 million reads per sample. More than 93% of the clean reads were mapped onto the C. arabica L. reference genome. A total of 11.08 million variants were identified, among which 9.74 million (87.9%) were SNPs (Single nucleotide polymorphisms) and 1.34 million (12.1%) were InDels. In all accessions, genomic variants were unevenly distributed across the coffee genome. The phylogenetic analysis using the SNP markers displayed distinct groups.ConclusionsResequencing of the coffee accessions has allowed identification of genetic markers, such as SNPs and InDels. The SNPs discovered in this study might contribute to the variation in important pathways of genes for important agronomic traits such as caffeine content, yield, disease, and pest in coffee. Moreover, the genome resequencing data and the genetic markers identified from 90 accessions provide insight into the genetic variation of the coffee germplasm and facilitate a broad range of genetic studies.

Phenotypic characterization of Amaro coffee (Coffea arabica L.) local accessions using multi-variate techniques at Awada, Southern Ethiopia

AbstractAs a country of origin of coffee, Ethiopia is endowed with an immense diversity of the crop in its diverse coffee-growing agro-ecologies. Amaro Kelo is one of the major coffee production agro-ecologies in Ethiopia, where the genetic diversity of its landrace coffee germplasm was not properly characterized previously. The study aimed to characterize 64 Amaro Kelo local coffee accessions to understand the potential of the accessions for utilization in future coffee genetic improvement efforts. The experiment was laid out in an 8 × 8 simple lattice design with two replications at Awada Agricultural Research Sub-Center. Data were collected on 19 quantitative and 10 qualitative traits, and subjected to multivariate analyses, i.e. cluster and principal component analyses. The cluster analysis identified five clusters based on the quantitative characters, and the distances between most of the clusters were highly significant at P < 0.01. Principal component analysis revealed the first six principal components with Eigenvalues greater than one accounted for 77.7% of the total variation. The first two principal components with respective contributions of 23.32 and 18.85% cumulatively accounted for 42.2% of the total variation in the accessions. In addition, high values of Shannon-diversity index were found for the qualitative traits: branching habit, growth habit, fruit shape, overall appearance and stem habit. In general, the multivariate analyses confirmed the presence of high variation among the studied Amaro-Kelo coffee accessions that might serve as an important genetic resource for future coffee genetic improvement or conservation efforts.

Research Achievements, Challenges and Future Perspectives of Irrigation and Water Harvesting Research Program of Jimma Agricultural Research Center: A Review

Due to spatial and temporal variability, rainfall rarely meets the required amount of water for plant growth, resulting in low agricultural production. Thus, for a sustainable increase in agricultural production and productivity, the use of irrigation is essential. Since its establishment, Jimma Agricultural Research has been conducting irrigation and water harvesting research for one and half a decade and has generated essential research findings for its mandate area. The objective of this review was to document the major achievements on coffee irrigation, challenges, and future prospects of the irrigation and water harvesting research program. The study was conducted by reviewing documents available on the web, interviewing the previous researchers who conducted the study, and also reviewing documents available in the library of the Jimma Agricultural Research Center. The major research activities conducted in the Jimma Agricultural Research Center under the irrigation and water harvesting program on coffee crops were: dry matter partitioning and physiological responses of Coffee Arabica varieties to soil moisture deficit stress seedling stage in southwest Ethiopia; growth response of Hararghie coffee accessions to soil moisture stress at seedling; sensitivity of coffee genotypes to drought induced by soil drying at early growth stages; growth and plant water relations of Arabica coffee in response to deficit irrigation; determination of optimal irrigation scheduling for coffee; and estimation and mapping of coffee water requirements using models. The major challenges were the lack of irrigation infrastructure, the lack of green houses and rain shelters, and the lack of laboratory equipment. Future irrigation research will focus on climate change, salinity management, ground water monitoring, watershed-based irrigation, modelling, and the application of more advanced technologies in relation to geographical information system and remote sensing.

Morphology identification and description of coffee plants (Coffea sp) in Karo District

Coffee is individual of the other plantation supplies that has a great commercial worth amid other estate harvests and plays a significant role as a basis of external exchange. This research aims to identify and determine the morphological characters of coffee plants (Coffea sp) in the three Sub-Districts Merek, Naman Teran, and Simpang Empat, Districts of Tanah Karo, North Sumatera, Indonesia. The research was conducted in 2019 which consisted of 27 plant samples. This research is an exploratory research which is conducted by survey and the sample is taken by using accidental sampling method. Observation of coffee morphological characters based on the IPGRI (International Plant Genetic Resources Institute) descriptor manual. The results showed that 27 coffee accessions found in each location had a relatively close similarity distance with the farthest kinship value of 8.813 found in the K26 and K8 accessions.