Organic Coffee Research Articles

English

Brazil is a country with great biodiversity; however, knowledge of this microbiological wealth is currently insufficient for its utilization in a sustainable manner. Agricultural expansion represents one of the largest current dangers to biodiversity and threatens to cause the extinction of a variety of species. This study therefore aimed to isolate and identify the species of fungi present in coffee beans cultivated in organic and conventional systems. Eighteen (18) samples of coffee beans from southern Minas Gerais were analyzed, and 346 fungal isolates were obtained from the analyzed coffee beans. These isolates belonged to 32 species in the following 14 genera: Aspergillus, Penicillium, Fusarium, Cladosporium, Mucor, Rhizopus, Trichoderma, Epicoccum, Phoma, Bipolaris, Glomerella, Colletotrichum, Alternaria and Gliocladium. Organic coffee bean samples exhibited the highest indices of fungal diversity. Two species identified in this study, Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus ochraceus, are extremely important for their toxigenic characteristics. We utilized simple correspondence analysis to evaluate the interaction of the identified fungi with the toxigenic species. An association of toxigenic fungi with other fungi is important because some microorganisms can degrade mycotoxins. In the organic coffee beans, A. flavus was associated with Cladosporium cladosporioides, A. ochraceus, and Penicillium brevicompactum. In contrast, in the conventional coffee beans, A. ochraceus was only associated with C. cladosporioides. These results demonstrate that greater fungal diversity exists in organic coffee beans. Key words: Interactions, microorganisms, mycotoxins, Aspergillus.

Characterization of Organic Coffee Production, Certification and Marketing Systems: Ethiopia as a Main Indicator: A Review

Characterization of Organic Coffee Production, Certification and Marketing Systems: Ethiopia as a Main Indicator: A Review

The influence of peeling and type of drying on chemical and sensorial analysis of organic coffee

Organic coffee is characterized by being produced without the use of chemical products and by having a similar or superior quality in comparison to that of coffee produced by traditional methods. The production of organic coffee does not include the use of highly soluble nutrients, which makes consumers concerned with environmental issues and healthy eating habits realize its true value. This paper aims to analyze the influence of harvesting, peeling and drying on the quality of organic coffee, in order to present the best way of producing high quality coffee. Samples of organic coffee were harvested by both conventional and selective ways, and some were peeled. They were then dried on concrete patio and on suspended terraces. The beans were analyzed for potassium leaching, electrical conductivity, titratable acidity, and submitted to coffee cupping-test. The results obtained indicated that the selective harvesting of the peeled or unpeeled cherry coffee dried on concrete terrace is feasible for production of fine coffees. This type of processing effectively influenced the final quality of the organic coffee, thus being an alternative to improve the quality and market value of the product, especially for small producers, cooperatives, and associations of coffee producers.

Coffee Clusters in Brazil

What is organic coffee? Basically, organic coffee is a coffee produced without using highly soluble chemical and either of fungicides, herbicides, insecticides or other chemicals. A specialty coffee is characterized by being differentiated quality, which involves from the process of production to consumption itself. There is no precise definition of the product and to establish a more approximate characterization should consider intrinsic parameters of the quality of the drink (variety, origin, and post-harvest cultural), as well as the condition of grain production. In Brazil, the entity responsible for evaluation, qualification, certification and promotion of coffee is the ABIC. When it comes to specifically special coffee, BSCA (Brazil Specialty Coffee Association) or Brazil Specialty Coffee Association) undertakes to assess and qualify products as rigid standard of evaluation. The coffee industry is represented by 300 thousand properties of various sizes (23 are small businesses). The sector employs 8.4 million workers directly and indirectly, that add a gross value of production of R$ 5 billion to the national economy. An important entry barrier lies in product differentiation via production process, with emphasis on the adoption of organic products and practices to better qualify the resulting coffee. There are several cases of producers who converted their crops to produce higher-quality coffees. At this point, the investment in training and in techniques and equipment is fundamental to obtaintion of a product special.

Heterogeneous motivations for coca growing: The case of an indigenous Aymara community in Peru

Coca is a native bush from the Amazon rainforest from which cocaine is extracted. Growing coca is a profitable activity; however, not all farmers located in the coca-supply areas do so. Little is known about farmers’ motivations for the decision to grow coca and if so, how much to grow. This article evaluates the influence of monetary and non-monetary factors on these decisions. The study is based on a survey of 496 households in an indigenous Aymara community in Peru. The results suggest, for example, that farmers are more likely to cultivate coca when their plots are characterized by flatter agricultural slopes and when in debt. In relation to the scale of coca cultivation, farmers can be classified into two groups. The larger group (73 percent) grows a high number of coca bushes when facing economic hardship; farmers in the second group (27 percent) seem to be more motivated by the potential profits from coca production relative to coffee, the alternative crop in the area. Therefore, the results support the common notion that farmers cultivate coca in accordance with economic need. Nonetheless, non-economic factors also influence the number of coca bushes cultivated and offer an additional opportunity to reduce coca cultivation if explicitly considered in drug-control policies. This research also discusses potential farmers’ responses to different coca-growing reduction strategies. Common drug-control policies such as organic coffee certification, road construction, and education have mixed effects on coca cultivation, depending on the type of coca grower. As such, farmers’ motivations are heterogeneous and the design of effective drug-control policies needs to reflect this.

Isolation and selection of Hemileia Vastatrix antagonists

Organic coffee growing is rapidly increasing in Brazil, and many diseases, especially coffee leaf rust (Hemileia vastatrix), are threatening its production. This study is a first step towards a biocontrol program for coffee rust on organically grown plants. In three organic coffee farms in the state of Minas Gerais, 393 microbial strains including 154 bacterial and 239 fungal strains were isolated from leaves, leaf debris, and soil samples, and in 6 month-old coffee plants, 17 of these isolates reduced both the infection frequency (IF) and the number of H. vastatrix urediniospores produced per leaf (UPL) by more than 70 %. The isolates were identified as eight bacteria isolates, seven Bacillus spp. and one Pseudomonas sp., and nine fungal isolates, four Fusarium spp., two Penicillium spp., one Aspergillus sp., one Acremonium sp. and one Cladosporium sp. Each fungal and bacterial isolate was applied 0, 4, 8, 12 or 16 days before and 0, 4, 8, 12 or 16 days after H. vastatrix inoculation, and the efficiency in reducing both IF and UPL was evaluated. The efficiency was higher and lasted longer when the bacterial isolates were applied before H. vastatrix inoculation. Six Bacillus (B10, B25, B143, B157, B171, B175), two Fusarium (F205, F281), and one Pseudomonas (B286) isolates are potentially efficient as biocontrol agents of H. vastatrix and will be tested using field experiments.

Predictors of Leafhopper Abundance and Richness in a Coffee Agroecosystem in Chiapas, Mexico

Coffee agroecosystems with a vegetatively complex shade canopy contain high levels of biodiversity. However, as coffee management is intensified, diversity may be lost. Most biodiversity studies in coffee agroecosystems have examined predators and not herbivores, despite their importance as potential coffee pests and coffee disease vectors. We sampled one abundant herbivore group of leafhoppers on an organic coffee farm in Chiapas, Mexico. We sampled leafhoppers with elevated pan traps in high- and moderate-shade coffee during the dry and wet seasons of 2011. The two major objectives were to 1) compare leafhopper abundance and richness during the wet and dry seasons and 2) examine the correlations between habitat characteristics (e.g., vegetation, elevation, and presence of aggressive ants) and leafhopper richness and abundance. We collected 2,351 leafhoppers, representing eight tribes and 64 morphospecies. Leafhopper abundance was higher in the dry season than in the wet season. Likewise, leafhopper richness was higher in the dry season. Several vegetation and other habitat characteristics correlated with abundance and richness of leafhoppers. The number of Inga trees positively correlated with leafhopper abundance, and other significant correlates of abundance included vegetation complexity. Leafhopper richness was correlated with the number of Inga trees. As leafhoppers transmit important coffee diseases, understanding the specific habitat factors correlating with changes in abundance and richness may help predict future disease outbreaks.

Organic coffee certification in Peru as an alternative development-oriented drug control policy

Purpose – This article aims to evaluate the effect of organic coffee certification on coca cultivation, based on a survey of 496 members from coffee cooperatives located in the upper Tambopata valley in Peru. Coca is a bush from the leaves of which cocaine is extracted. Design/methodology/approach – The results were estimated using the propensity score matching methodology. Findings – The results suggest that participation in organic coffee certification statistically significantly reduces the scale of coca cultivation. Originality/value – This paper analyses a unique primary data set from a coca-growing region in Peru. The value of this paper is that the results suggest that under specific conditions, such as reasonable high and stable coffee prices, organic coffee certification can be an effective element of drug control policy in Latin America.

Stocks and oxidizable fractions of soil organic matter under organic coffee agroforestry systems

Research evaluating the impact of different management systems coffee are essential for determining soil quality. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of production systems for organic coffee and agroforestry on stocks of carbon, nitrogen and organic matter quality in two farms in the region Caparao- Espirito Santo- Brazil. In farm 1 systems were evaluated primary forest, organic coffee and conventional coffee. In farm 2 systems were evaluated secondary forest, organic coffee intercropped with inga, organic coffee intercropped with leucaena and inga, organic coffee intercropped cedar and conventional coffee full sun. Soil samples were collected in canopy projection coffee in the depths 0-10, 10-20, 20-40, 40-60 and 60-100 cm. The C and N stock reflected the management history in relation to forest areas, with the greatest impact in the 0-10 cm. This depth, to the farm 1, the conventional coffee obtained reductions of 27.3 % and 14.9 % respectively in C and N stocks in relation to organic coffee. For farm 2, reductions in C and N stocks the coffee conventional full sun in relation to agroforestry coffee were 22.1 % and 31.4 %, respectively. The C stocks accumulated were reduced in coffee systems in 28.6 % and 17.4 % respectively in relation to primary and secondary forests. The mineralizable C content was higher in the soil surface layers and in the organic coffee systems compared to conventional coffee, in the farm 2. The coffee agroforestry system provided higher carbon management index in relation to organic coffee without consortium and conventional coffee, providing better soil quality.

Orchid bees as bio-indicators for organic coffee farms in Costa Rica: Does farm size affect their abundance?

The potential of Euglossini bees, especially Euglossa, as biological indicators of organic vs nonorganic coffee farms was studied in Atenas and San Isidro, Alajuela, Costa Rica using 1.8-cineole as lure. Observations were made for three days at each of four farms and complemented with data from a year of observations. Orchid bees were in greater abundance in the organic farms (t-Student test). However, lower abundances suggest that an organic farm may be negatively affected by the proximity of non-organic farms, depending on its size and distance. Orchid bees may be indicators of organic coffee farms.

Soil aggregation and organic carbon of Oxisols under coffee in agroforestry systems

Intensive land use can lead to a loss of soil physical quality with negative impacts on soil aggregates, resistance to root penetration, porosity, and bulk density. Organic and agroforestry management systems can represent sustainable, well-balanced alternatives in the agroecosystem for promoting a greater input of organic matter than the conventional system. Based on the hypothesis that an increased input of organic matter improves soil physical quality, this study aimed to evaluate the impact of coffee production systems on soil physical properties in two Red-Yellow Oxisols (Latossolos Vermelho-Amarelos) in the region of Caparaó, Espirito Santo, Brazil. On Farm 1, we evaluated the following systems: primary forest (Pf1), organic coffee (Org1) and conventional coffee (Con1). On Farm 2, we evaluated: secondary forest (Sf2), organic coffee intercropped with inga (Org/In2), organic coffee intercropped with leucaena and inga (Org/In/Le2), organic coffee intercropped with cedar (Org/Ced2) and unshaded conventional coffee (Con2). Soil samples were collected under the tree canopy from the 0-10, 10-20 and 20-40 cm soil layers. Under organic and agroforestry coffee management, soil aggregation was higher than under conventional coffee. In the agroforestry system, the degree of soil flocculation was 24 % higher, soil moisture was 80 % higher, and soil resistance to penetration was lower than in soil under conventional coffee management. The macroaggregates in the organic systems, Org/In2, Org/In/Le2, and Org/Ced2 contained, on average, 29.1, 40.1 and 34.7 g kg-1 organic carbon, respectively. These levels are higher than those found in the unshaded conventional system (Con2), with 20.2 g kg-1.

Organic and Conventional Coffee (Coffea arabica L.): Differences in the Content of Minerals and Studies in Healthy and Induced Cancer Rats

Coffee is one of the most important agricultural products in international trade. The agricultural management system may influence the chemical composition of the beans in addition to altering the bioavailability of nutrients essential for humans. Therefore, the concentrations of Cu, Fe, Zn and the proximate composition of powder and coffee infusions from beans grown under organic or conventional agricultural systems were evaluated. In addition, the effect of these products on hepatic mineral content in vivo was investigated, in healthy and induced cancer rats. Our results showed that the levels of Cu, Fe and Zn were higher in conventional coffee powder than in organic powder. However, despite these differences, the organic coffee had higher extraction yield for all infuses, and its infusion at 20% (w/v) had higher level of Zn than conventional infusion. These results were associated with the agricultural system used and the extraction process employed during the preparation of infusions. The conventional coffee provides more adsorbent compounds, decreasing the availability of this mineral in the beverage. In terms of the mineral content in vivo, the ingestion of diets prepared with infusions or coffee powder did not influence the hepatic content of Cu, Fe and Zn.

Biodiversidade de fungos filamentosos em grãos de café cultivados em sistema orgânico e convencional

The fruits of organically and conventionally produced coffee are subject to contamination from several species of fungi, and that may be related to poor beverage quality and mycotoxin production. The aim of this study was to identify the biodiversity of isolated filamentous fungi in the coffee beans produced on organic and conventional farms within the same area. Two hundred and twelve isolates belonging to eleven different genders were identified from the fifteen samples analyzed. The main gender found was Aspergillus, with isolation of fungi from the Sections Circumdati, Nigri, Flavi and Versicolores. The samples that obtained the greatest index of contamination were those that didn't pass through the disinfection process with 1% sodium hypochlorite. The samples of coffee beans from organic cultivation exhibited the greatest degree of richness and diversity within a single location with very similar climatic conditions. Thus, organic coffee production requires greater care due to the increased incidence of filamentous fungi.

Big retail and sustainable coffee: A new development studies research agenda

Over the past five years, global retail chains such as Walmart, McDonald’s and Starbucks have accelerated their efforts to source and sell coffee ‘sustainably’. Whereas ethical and environmental concerns were the intended drivers of fair trade and organic coffee uptake among the big coffee roasters, now multinational retailers are strategically embracing ‘sustainable coffee’ to build brand reputation and consumer trust as well as enhance quality and profitability. This new trend among mass retailers is transforming the social and environmental governance of coffee production and revealing several critical emerging areas of development studies research regarding the impact of big retail power.

Toxicity of organic-coffee-approved products to the southern red mite Oligonychus ilicis and to its predator Iphiseiodes zuluagai

Organic coffee growers in Brazil often spray a wide range of organic-farming compatible products to control pests including the southern red mite, Oligonychus ilicis. However, most of these products have not yet been proven to be effective for mite control and there is no information about their side effects on natural enemies. We evaluated the lethal and sublethal effects of three organic compatible products, the biofertilizer Supermagro, a fresh bovine manure supplemented with micronutrients, bone meal, unrefined sugar, and milk to stimulate fermentation, an enriched Bordeaux mixture (Viça Café Plus®) and lime sulfur to O. ilicis and to its predatory mite Iphiseiodes zuluagai. Additionally, we evaluated the efficacy of these products against O. ilicis under greenhouse conditions. Only lime sulfur showed acute lethal effects at concentrations lower than the field recommended rates (20–40 ml/l). The predatory mite I. zuluagai was more tolerant than its prey to the three products based on acute lethal concentration bioassays. The instantaneous rate of increase (ri) of O. ilicis when exposed to lime sulfur at field recommended rates was negative but ri of the predatory mite, I. zuluagai was not. The ri of the predatory mite was lower than that of its prey under Supermagro and Viça Café exposure, including at their field recommended rates (200 ml/l and 10 g/l, respectively). In a greenhouse experiment, the control efficacy against O. ilicis 14 days after spraying reached levels higher than 80% for all three products. Lime sulfur has the potential to control O. ilicis in organic coffee plantations. Although, Supermagro and Viça Café exhibited potential to control O. ilicis in the greenhouse, the product concentrations used were very high and may lead to selectivity problems. Therefore, spraying suitable concentrations of such products taking into account their effectiveness against O. ilicis and their selectivity to natural enemies are important for ecological pest management in organic coffee besides benefiting coffee plant nutrition.

Analysis of the cost-effectiveness for ecosystem service provision and rural income generation: a comparison of three different programs in Southern Ecuador

In recent years, new tools for funding nature conservation have been designed. Because poverty is often significant in areas with high biodiversity, the improvement of local livelihoods is frequently considered as a secondary goal of new financing mechanisms besides nature conservation. The buffer zone of the Podocarpus National Park in Ecuador is such a high biodiversity zone. In this paper, we compare the cost-effectiveness and development potential of three different mechanisms to finance nature conservation implemented in this buffer zone, namely (a) an organic coffee label, (b) the Socio Bosque Program, a nationwide payment scheme for private forest conservation, and (c) FORAGUA, a regional water fund. This paper describes the functioning and the scope of the mechanisms and analyses their environmental and socio-economic impacts which are compared to the total costs. Results show that the water fund has the highest additionality in ecosystem service provision, while the payment scheme is the most cost-effective both for current as for increased ecosystem service provision and for extra rural job creation. Organic coffee certification has the highest positive impact on rural income creation.

Análise da maximização do lucro e minimização do custo no processo de conversão do café convencional para o orgânico: um estudo de caso

Um dos procedimentos da Agricultura Orgânica (AO) é o processo de conversão, pelo qual a atividade agrícola em manejo convencional muda para o manejo orgânico. No caso do café, a conversão do sistema convencional para o orgânico pode trazer consigo, entre outros benefícios, a independência de insumos externos, menor risco para a saúde e pode proporcionar maior lucro ao produtor. Esta pesquisa tem como objetivo verificar a viabilidade econômica da produção orgânica de café no Sítio Terra Verde em Espírito Santo do Pinhal, no estado de São Paulo, para o processo de conversão da técnica convencional para a orgânica. Utilizou-se a metodologia de programação linear para maximizar o lucro e minimizar o custo de produção do café em dois cenários. O plano de conversão passou por três fases de manejo: substituição de insumos, conversão e produção orgânica. Os resultados mostraram que a adoção da técnica orgânica proporcionou ao cafeicultor lucros superiores aos do sistema convencional no final do período de conversão, quando ocorre aumento sobre o preço da saca. Conclui-se que pode ser economicamente viável a adoção da produção orgânica na cultura do café, mas é com extrema dependência do diferencial do preço entre os sistemas convencional e orgânico.

Conventional Food Plot Management in an Organic Coffee Cooperative: Explaining the Paradox

This research analyzes farmers’ motivations for conventional management of subsistence food crops, in contrast to organic management of coffee destined for export. Semistructured interviews, focus groups, and financial analyses were conducted with farmers from a small organic coffee cooperative in western El Salvador. We sought to identify what factors have motivated peasant farmers to manage subsistence crops, primarily maize and beans, with agrochemicals. We found that a combination of environmental, economic, social and political factors have driven agricultural management decisions. The environmental requirements of coffee are distinct, where coffee in a diverse shaded agroecosystem responds better to low-input management than maize grown on steep slopes in nutrient-poor soil. In addition, there are no direct economic incentives for subsistence farmers to manage food crops organically, while the benefit of a price premium does exist for organic coffee. Finally, institutional support for agriculture encourages organic production for export crops and generally overlooks subsistence farming. Our data show that half of the farmers lost money on their food plots, with agrochemicals representing the largest cost. This research suggests that small-scale farmers need support in transitioning to more economically and environmentally sustainable farming practices.

The use of advanced chemometric techniques and trace element levels for controlling the authenticity of organic coffee

This study examines the application of advanced data mining techniques associated with trace element concentrations for authenticity evaluation of organic coffee samples. Fifty-four coffee samples (20 organic and 34 non-organic) were evaluated according to their macro and microelement contents to establish reference ranges and identify differences in patterns of chemical elements in both crop procedures. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was used for the determination of thirty-eight chemical elements (Al, As, B, Ba, Be, Bi, Cd, Ce, Co, Cr, Cs, Cu, Dy, Eu, Er, Gd, Ge, Ho, La, Lu, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Rb, Se, Sm, Sr, Yb, W, U, Ta, Tb, Th, Ti, Tl, Zr and Zn). In general, higher levels of chemical elements were found in conventional coffee compared with organic samples. The classification of samples was performed by using three well known data mining algorithms, named Multilayer Perceptron (MLP), Support Vector Machine (SVM) and Naïve Bayes (NB). When all analyzed variables were considered, a 96.3% accuracy level was obtained with the three algorithms. The level of accuracy remained at 96.3% for SVM and MLP and rose to 98.2 for NB when only eight of the investigated minerals – i.e. Zn, Se, Ba, U, Dy, Tl, Th, Mo – were used for chemometric analysis. This level of accuracy provides a strong foundation to propose the combination of trace element spectral fingerprints with data mining techniques as a valuable tool to evaluate the authenticity of organic coffee samples.

The Vision of a Green(er) Scientific Conference

The Vision of a Green(er) Scientific Conference