A Detailed Guide to Coffee Planting Techniques and Cultivation Management Methods

Coffee is one of the world's three major beverages. The coffee we drink every day is made from coffee beans using various brewing devices, and coffee beans are the seeds inside the fruit of the coffee tree, roasted by an appropriate method. So, what are the coffee planting techniques?

1. Site selection

Choose a hillside slope with convenient transportation, close to a water source, loose and fertile soil, deep soil layer, good drainage, near the plantation, and a soil pH of 5.5 to 6.5 as the nursery. It is not advisable to raise seedlings directly under trees.

2. Seed selection and seedling raising

For Arabica coffee seed selection, the requirements are to pick fully ripe fruits of uniform size, normal shape, and containing 2 seeds from superior mother trees that have been in production for more than 5 years, grow vigorously, have high resistance, yield more than 1kg of dry beans per plant, and are free of pests and diseases, then dry them in the sun for later use. Never expose them to direct sunlight; air-dry for 1 to 2 days, remove impurities, and they are ready for sowing.

3. Germination

After the selected seeds have been peeled, degummed, dried in the shade, and stored, they are then subjected to germination treatment. Coffee germination usually uses the sand bed germination method, that is, building a germination bed at a suitable location within the nursery, with a size of unlimited length, 100cm wide, and 8cm deep, dug into a low trough, with the trough filled with 5cm of clean fine sand, the sand bed shaped like a tray, and the treated seeds evenly scattered on the sand surface at a sowing rate of 0.5kg/m2, then pressing the seeds into the sand with a wooden board until level with the sand surface, covering with a layer of sand, with a thickness such that the seeds cannot be seen.

4. Field planting

Take out the seedlings that have already grown cotyledons on the seedbed and transplant them onto the prepared seedbed or into plastic bags. For soil-bed transplanting, the plant and row spacing is 15cm×20cm. Water before lifting the seedlings. The amount of water should be just enough to lift the seedlings smoothly. When taking out the seedlings, use a small wooden stick as an aid to avoid damaging the roots, transplant with soil to prevent root moisture loss. When transplanting, spread out the root system and promptly trim overly long taproots. Plant the seedling upright with the taproot straight, and keep the fibrous roots in their original natural state. Whether bed seedlings or bagged seedlings, after transplanting they must be watered thoroughly to set the roots.

5. Field management

Within 15 days after the seedlings are transplanted, promptly fill the gaps where dead seedlings were with seedlings of the same age, so as to achieve uniform and complete stands. At the same time, water according to the weather and the soil temperature on the seedbed. Keep the soil moist at all times, and weed frequently. When the seedlings grow 2 to 3 pairs of true leaves, promptly apply the first water-and-fertilizer application; the method is to apply decomposed human manure and urine mixed with clear water at a ratio of 1:5, watering until wet, then rinse once with clear water to promote cotyledon absorption of water, doing this once every 1 to 2 months, alternately broadcasting urea and compound fertilizer followed by watering.

6. Timely harvesting

The coffee fruit ripening period generally begins in early November and lasts until late February of the following year. Harvest as they ripen. When the coffee fruit turns red, it indicates ripeness and can be harvested in batches. At the final harvest, pick all fruits regardless of whether they are red or green.