Coffee Cultivation Techniques Explained: Planting and Management Methods

Coffee is a beverage that many people love to drink. The coffee tree is widely cultivated around the world and originated in the tropical and subtropical regions of northern and central Africa. It is a perennial horticultural cash crop. So, what are the cultivation techniques for coffee?

1. Site selection

Choose a hillside plot with convenient transportation, close to a water source, loose and fertile soil, deep soil layer, good drainage, relatively close to the plantation, and a soil pH value 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 fruit shape, and containing 2 seeds from excellent mother trees that have been in production for more than 5 years, grow vigorously, have high resistance, yield more than 1 kg of dry beans per plant, and are free of pests and diseases. After sun-drying, set them aside for later use. Never expose them directly to the sun; dry them in the shade for 1 to 2 days, remove impurities, and then sow.

3. Germination promotion

After the selected seeds have been peeled, degummed, dried in the shade, and stored, they are then treated to promote germination. Coffee germination is usually carried out using the sand bed method, that is, building a germination bed at a suitable location in the nursery area, with no limit on length, a width of 100 cm, and a depth of 8 cm, opened into a low trench. The trench is filled with 5 cm of clean fine sand, and the sand bed is made into a tray shape. The treated seeds are evenly scattered on the sand surface at a sowing rate of 0.5 kg/sq m. Use a wooden board to press the seeds into the sand until level with the sand surface, then cover with a layer of sand, with a thickness such that the seeds cannot be seen.

4. Field planting

Remove the seedlings that have already grown cotyledons from the seedbed and transplant them onto the prepared seedbed or into plastic bags. The spacing for transplanting seedlings on a soil bed is 15 cm × 20 cm. Water before lifting the seedlings. The amount of water should be suitable for smoothly lifting the seedlings. When taking out the seedlings, use a small wooden stick as an aid to avoid damaging the roots, transplant with soil, and prevent water loss from the roots. When transplanting, spread out the root system and promptly prune overly long main roots. Plant the seedling upright, with the main root planted 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 settle the roots.

5. Field management

Within 15 days after the seedlings are transplanted, promptly fill dead seedling gaps with seedlings of the same age, so as to achieve uniform and complete seedlings. 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, apply the first water-and-fertilizer application in time. The method is to apply decomposed human feces and urine mixed with clear water at a ratio of 1:5 until wet, then pour clear water once to promote absorption of water by the cotyledons. Do this once every 1 to 2 months, alternately broadcasting urea and compound fertilizer, followed by watering.

6. Harvesting and storage

The coffee fruit ripening period generally begins in early November and lasts until late February of the following year. Pick as they ripen. Coffee fruits are ripe when they turn red, and can then be harvested in batches. During the final picking, all fruits are harvested regardless of whether they are red or green.

When selecting a site, note that coffee trees are best grown in high-altitude areas with volcanic, limestone, or granite soil, where it is cloudy or there are shade trees during high temperatures, where there is a large temperature difference between day and night, a distinct dry and wet season, and fertile soil.