Comparison between climatological and field water balances for a coffee crop

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Nitrogen fertilizer (15N) leaching in a central pivot fertigated coffee crop

Nitrogen has a complex dynamics in the soil-plant-atmosphere system. N fertilizers are subject to chemical and microbial transformations in soils that can result in significant losses. Considering the cost of fertilizers, the adoption of good management practices like fertigation could improve the N use efficiency by crops. Water balances (WB) were applied to evaluate fertilizer N leaching using 15N labeled urea in west Bahia, Brazil. Three scenarios (2008/2009) were established: i) rainfall + irrigation the full year, ii) rainfall only; and iii) rainfall + irrigation only in the dry season. The water excess was considered equal to the deep drainage for the very flat area (runoff = 0) with a water table located several meters below soil surface (capillary rise = 0). The control volume for water balance calculations was the 0 - 1 m soil layer, considering that it involves the active root system. The water drained below 1 m was used to estimate fertilizer N leaching losses. WB calculations used the mathematic model of Penman-Monteith for evapotranspiration, considering the crop coefficient equal to unity. The high N application rate associated to the high rainfall plus irrigation was found to be the main cause for leaching, which values were 14.7 and 104.5 kg ha-1 for the rates 400 and 800 kg ha-1 of N, corresponding to 3.7 and 13.1 % of the applied fertilizer, respectively.

Determinants of crop diversity and composition in Enset-coffee agroforestry homegardens of Southern Ethiopia

Households in much of the tropics depend for their livelihoods on the variety and continued production of food and other products that are provided by their own farms. In such systems, maintenance of agrobiodiversity and ensuring food security are important for the well being of the population. The enset-coffee agroforestry homegardens of Southern Ethiopia that are dominated by two native perennial crops, Coffee (Coffea arabica L.) and Enset (Enset ventricosum Welw. Cheesman), are examples of such agricultural systems. This study was conducted in Sidama administrative zone of Southern Ethiopia to determine the factors that influence the diversity and composition of crops in the systems. Data were collected from 144 sample homegardens selected from four districts. Stepwise multiple regression analysis was used to relate indices of crop diversity and area share of major crops with the physical and socioeconomic factors. The study revealed that socioeconomic factors, mainly proximity to markets, affected negatively crop species richness. The production area of the main crops enset and coffee decreased with increasing proximity to market and road while that of maize and khat increased. At household level, farm size had a significant effect on area share of enset and coffee. As farm size increased the share of the cash crop, coffee increased but that of the staple, enset declined. Enset, which is the backbone of the system in terms of food security, is declining on small farms and the share of monoculture maize system is increasing. The trend towards declining agrobiodiversity, and reduction in the production area of the main perennial crops and their gradual replacement with monoculture fields could make the systems liable to instability and collapse. As these sites are high potential agricultural areas, intensification can be achieved by integrating high-value and more productive crops, such as fruits, spices and vegetables, while maintaining the integrated and complex nature of the systems.

Delineation of specific management areas for coffee cultivation based on the soil-relief relationship and numerical classification

Predicting and mapping productivity areas allows crop producers to improve their planning of agricultural activities. The primary aims of this work were the identification and mapping of specific management areas allowing coffee bean quality to be predicted from soil attributes and their relationships to relief. The study area was located in the Southeast of the Minas Gerais state, Brazil. A grid containing a total of 145 uniformly spaced nodes 50 m apart was established over an area of 31. 7 ha from which samples were collected at depths of 0. 00-0. 20 m in order to determine physical and chemical attributes of the soil. These data were analysed in conjunction with plant attributes including production, proportion of beans retained by different sieves and drink quality. The results of principal component analysis (PCA) in combination with geostatistical data showed the attributes clay content and available iron to be the best choices for identifying four crop production environments. Environment A, which exhibited high clay and available iron contents, and low pH and base saturation, was that providing the highest yield (30. 4l ha-1) and best coffee beverage quality (61 sacks ha-1). Based on the results, we believe that multivariate analysis, geostatistics and the soil-relief relationships contained in the digital elevation model (DEM) can be effectively used in combination for the hybrid mapping of areas of varying suitability for coffee production. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media New York.

Irrigation and intercropping with macadamia increase initial arabica coffee yield and profitability

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Sensory analysis of specialty coffee from different environmental conditions in the region of Matas de Minas, Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Specialty coffees can be differentiated in various ways, including the environmental conditions in which they are produced and the sensory composition of the drink. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of altitude, slope exposure and fruit color on the sensory attributes of cafes of the region of Matas de Minas. Sampling points were georeferenced in four altitude ranges (< 700 m; 700 < x> 825 m, 825 < x < 950 m and > 950 m) of the coffee crop; two fruit colors of var. Catuaí (yellowand red); and two slope exposures (North-facing and South-facing). Coffee fruit at the cherry stage were processed andsubmitted to sensory analysis. The sensory attributes evaluated were overall perception, clean cup, balance, aftertaste, sweetness, acidity , body and flavor, which made up the final score. The scores were examined by ANOVA and means werecompared by the Tukey test (p < 0.05). From the sensory standpoint, coffee fruits of both colors are similar, as well as the cof fees from both slope exposures when these factors were analyzed separately . However , at higher altitudes, Y ellow Catuaí produces coffees with better sensory quality . Similarly , coffees from North-facing slopes, at higher altitudes produce better quality cup. The altitude is the main factor that interferes with coffee quality in the area. All factors together contribute tothe final quality of the beverage produced in the region of Matas de Minas.

Energy balances in sugar cane, coffee and natural vegetation in the northeastern side of the São Paulo state, Brazil

Under land and climate change scenarios, agriculture has experienced water competitions among other sectors in the São Paulo state, Brazil. On the one hand, in several occasions, in the northeastern side of this state, nowadays sugar-cane is expanding, while coffee plantations are losing space. On the other hand, both crops have replaced the natural vegetation composed by Savannah and Atlantic Coastal Forest species. Under this dynamic situation, geosciences are valuable tools for evaluating the large-scale energy and mass exchanges between these diffe rent agro-ecosystems and the lower atmosphere. For quantification of the energy balance components in these mixed agro-ecosystems, the bands 1 and 2 from the MODIS product MOD13Q1 we re used throughout SA FER (Surface Algorithm for Evapotranspiration Retrieving) algorithm, which was applied together with a net of 12 automatic weather stations, during the year 2015 in the main sugar cane and coffee growing regions, located at the no rtheastern side of the state. The fraction of the global solar radiation (R G ) transformed into net radiation (Rn) was 52% for sugar cane and 53% for both, coffee and natural vegetation. The respective annual fractions of Rn used as λ E were 0.68, 0.87 and 0.77, while for the sensible heat (H) fluxes they were 0.27, 0.07 and 0.16. From April to July, heat advection raised λ E values above Rn promoting negative H, however these effects were much and less strong in coffee and sugar cane crop s, respectively. The smallest daily Rn fraction for all agro-ecosystems was for the soil heat flux (G), with averages of 5%, 6% and 7% in sugar cane, coffee and natural vegetation. From the energy balance analyses, we could conclude that, sugar-cane crop presented lower annual water consumption than that for coffee crop , what can be seen as an advantage in situations of water scarcity. However, the replacement of natural vegetation by su gar cane can contribute for warming th e environment, while when this occur with coffee crop there was noticed co oling conditions. The large scale modeling satisfactory results confirm the suitability of using MODIS products togeth er with weather stations to study the energy balance components in mixed agro-ecosystems under land-use and climate change conditions.

Diversidade de hemerobiídeos (Neuroptera) e suas associações com presas em cafeeiros

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a diversidade de Hemerobiidae (Neuroptera) em cafeeiros, e suas relações com Leucoptera coffeella, Coccus sp., Planococcus sp., Oligonychus ilicis, Brevipalpus phoenicis, Aphis spiraecola e Toxoptera aurantii. As amostragens foram realizadas em Cravinhos, SP, entre maio de 2005 e abril de 2007. Os hemerobiídeos foram coletados com rede de varredura, armadilha de Möricke e armadilhas luminosas e, para a amostragem das presas, foram coletadas folhas de cafeeiro. Foram obtidos 882 exemplares de hemerobiídeos: Nusalala tessellata (467 espécimes, 52,9% do total coletado), Hemerobius bolivari (153, 17,3%), Megalomus impudicus (114, 12,9%), Sympherobius miranda (109, 12,4%), Megalomus rafaeli (30, 3,4%), Sympherobius ariasi (6, 0,7%) e Nomerobius psychodoides (3, 0,3%). A ocorrência de Nusalala tessellata e M. impudicus foi correlacionada positivamente à de Coccus sp.; o mesmo fato ocorreu para M. rafaeli com lagartas de L. coffeella e A. spiraecola e para H. bolivari com O. ilicis. As correlações foram negativas e significativas entre as ocorrências de S. miranda e O. ilicis e entre as de N. tessellata e L. coffeella e O. ilicis. As correlações mostraram que os Hemerobiidae, predadores generalistas, foram favorecidos pelo constante suprimento de presas que ocorreram na cultura do café, no período estudado.

Estudos biológicos de cochonilhas do gênero Planococcus (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) em diferentes hospedeiros

This work was carried out to study the development of populations of the genus Planococcus in different plant species, aiming at the verification of host specificity. The mealybugs Planococcus minor were obtained from cocoa plants (Theobroma cacao L.) and coffee crop (Coffea canephora L.), and Planococcus citri from citrus seedlings (Citrus sinensis L. Osbeck). Single eggs were transferred to Petri dishes containing leaf discs of cocoa (T. cacao cultivar Catongo), coffee (Coffea arabica L. cultivar Mundo Novo) and citrus (C. sinensis cultivar Pera Rio). They were maintained on a water-agar slide at 1%, with the abaxial surface turned upwards. The dishes were sealed with a PVC plastic film and kept in climatized chambers regulated at 25 [plus or minus] 1[degrees] C, 70 [plus or minus] 10% RH and 12 hours of photophase. For the mealybugs coming from cocoa plants, the citrus substrate prolonged the nymphal development of the males (26.0 days). In the nymphal period of females and males coming from coffee plants, the coffee substrate allowed a shorter duration of that period (19.2 and 21.3 days, respectively) and, in addition to having providing a longer longevity to the females (59.1 days). The highest rates of mortality were obtained when they were reared on the cocoa substrate, regardless of the host plant from which they were originally collected, and when kept on citrus, for insects collected on coffee plants. P. citri and P. minor have higher preference for coffee substrate regardless of the original host, thus showing partial host specificity.

Diagnóstico da exigência do cafeeiro em nitrogênio pela utilização do medidor portátil de clorofila

O nitrogênio é o elemento mais utilizado pela cultura do café e seu manejo é extremamente importante devido às perdas especialmente em épocas chuvosas. O trabalho foi desenvolvido em Argissolo Vermelho-Amarelo, na região de Sud Mennucci (SP), e teve como objetivo avaliar o efeito de diferentes doses e épocas de aplicação de nitrogênio sobre o teor de clorofila e de N nas folhas do cafeeiro, e calcular correlações com a produtividade. O delineamento experimental foi em blocos ao acaso com quatro repetições. Os tratamentos obedeceram o esquema fatorial 5 x 3, constituído pela combinação de cinco doses de N (0, 50, 150, 250 e 350 kg ha-1) aplicados na forma de uréia em três épocas de aplicação (aplicação única em dezembro; duas aplicações: parceladas em novembro e janeiro e três aplicações: parceladas em novembro, dezembro e janeiro). Avaliaram-se os teores de clorofila e nitrogênio das folhas durante a frutificação e a colheita. A concentração de clorofila correlacionou-se positivamente com o teor de nitrogênio nas folhas e a produção de grãos se ajustou a uma função quadrática com as doses de N aplicadas, na qual a dose 210 kg ha-1 promoveu a máxima produção; a estimativa do teor de clorofila foi promissora para detecção de possíveis deficiências de nitrogênio.

Sistemas intercalares com abacaxizeiro como alternativa de renda durante a formação de cafezais irrigados

O objetivo deste trabalho foi determinar o sistema de plantio de abacaxizeiro intercalado com cafeeiro que proporciona o maior retorno econômico, sem comprometer o desenvolvimento vegetativo e a produtividade de cafezal irrigado. Utilizou-se o delineamento em blocos ao acaso, com quatro repetições e dez plantas úteis por parcela. Os sistemas irrigados de cultivo consistiram em: duas e três fileiras simples de abacaxizeiro, nas entrelinhas do cafeeiro, ou quatro linhas em fileiras duplas. O desenvolvimento vegetativo do cafeeiro foi avaliado aos 6, 12 e 18 meses após o plantio, e a produtividade aos 28 meses. O cultivo de duas fileiras simples favoreceu o desenvolvimento do cafeeiro, e os demais sistemas não tiveram efeito sobre esse parâmetro. A produtividade do cafeeiro foi maior nos sistemas de cultivo com duas e três fileiras de abacaxi. Os três sistemas de cultivo apresentaram retornos econômicos positivos. O sistema intercalar com três fileiras simples proporciona o melhor retorno, sem comprometer o desenvolvimento vegetativo e a produtividade do cafeeiro.

Variabilidade espacial de atributos químicos e de produtividade na cultura do café

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Seletividade de inseticidas utilizados em cultura cafeeira para larvas de Cryptolaemus montrouzieri Mulsant

Assim como a maioria dos cultivos, em cafeeiro, a associação de inimigos naturais com produtos fitossanitários seletivos é uma importante estratégia no manejo integrado de pragas (MIP). Dessa forma, este estudo objetivou avaliar a seletividade de agrotóxicos utilizados na cultura cafeeira sobre larvas de Cryptolaemus montrouzieri Mulsant, 1853 (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), em laboratório. Os bioensaios foram realizados em condições controladas (25±2°C, UR de 70±10% e fotofase de 12 horas). Cada bioensaio consistiu em seis tratamentos e dez repetições, sendo cada parcela composta por duas larvas. Para as comparações das médias dos tratamentos, empregou-se um esquema fatorial inteiramente ao acaso de produtos x número de instares para os diferentes instares subsequentes à aplicação. Os inseticidas utilizados e suas respectivas dosagens de aplicação, em g de i.a. L-1 foram: tiametoxam (0,5), imidacloprido (0,7), óleo mineral (13,3), endossulfam (2,63) e dimetoato (0,48). A testemunha foi composta apenas por água destilada. A aplicação dos produtos foi realizada por meio de torre de Potter. Avaliaram-se a sobrevivência dos espécimes após serem contaminados com os produtos e os efeitos dos compostos sobre os parâmetros reprodutivos do predador. Tiametoxam (0,5), imidacloprido (0,7) e endossulfam (2,63) foram os mais prejudiciais, tendo sido observados, para os dois primeiros, 100% de mortalidade de larvas de primeiro e de segundo instares um dia após a aplicação e significativa redução na sobrevivência das larvas de terceiro e quarto instares. Dimetoato (0,48) foi nocivo para larvas de primeiro instar e levemente nocivo para larvas de quarto instar. em função da seletividade apresentada pelo óleo mineral (13,3), este pode ser recomendado em compatibilização com o predador C. montrouzieri em programas de MIP na cultura cafeeira, sem prejuízo ao desempenho do inimigo natural.

Swarming of millipedes, a new case noticed in the District of Patrocinio-MG-Brazil

A population boom of the millipede Plusioporus setigerhas been recorded in coffee crops in the district of Patrocinio-MG, Brazil on the last five years. The millipedes spread over dwelling houses and to vegetable gardens, orchards and small plantations. It was suggested that population increase occurred as a consequence of the organic materials in high scale and also periodic irrigation in the coffee crop.

Comportamento do cafeeiro apoatã em consórcio com culturas anuais

This study was conducted in Adamantina, region of Alta Paulista, São Paulo State, Brazil, from 1989 to 1993. Yield of Apoatã coffee (Coffea canephora Pierre ex Froehner) was evaluated during four years of intercropping with five plant species: IAC 20 - cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.); cv. Tatu - peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.); IAC 165 - rice (Oryza sativa L.); cv. Guarani - castor bean (Ricinus communis L.) and IAC 100-B - corn (Zea mays L.). The crops were seeded 50 cm apart from coffee canopy. The treatments were arranged in randomized complete block design with five replications. Yield was significantly decreased when coffee was intercropped with castor bean, corn, cotton and peanut, but height and diameter of orthotropic branches were not affected. Linear correlation analysis showed that coffee yield was inversely correlated with the dry biomass of the intercrops.