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Introduction
Coffee boasts more than 100 described species, although
only three of the species are grown commercially to make
the hot drink we all know and love.
The most popular varieties of coffee are:
• C. Arabica
• C. Canephora
• C. Liberica
Although the species C. Arabica is the most commonly
grown species throughout the world, the cultivation of C.
Canephora has played a major part in increasing world
coffee production.
In Brazil, one of the World’s leading coffee producers,
almost 25% of all of coffee cultivated in the massive
country is of the C. Canephora variety.
For growers, knowledge of the ripening process of the
coffee fruit is regarded as being critical for agricultural
planning, taking into account predicting date of the harvest,
as well as fruit quality, which will allow for the product to
reach the market in the peak of its readiness.
Over the years, a number of important studies on the
process of gene expression in different periods of fruit
development have been carried out, with the term
“maturation cycle” been increasingly brought into use
in order to accurately predict the timing of this period,
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fruit ripening.
In coffee plants maturation cycles generally vary, and are
dependant on a combination of climatic conditions as well
as the coffee genotype grown.
C. Canephora reproduce by a process known as allogamy,
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another. As the most common form of sexual reproduction
in plants Allogamy is vital in obtaining productive varieties
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In addition to cycle differentiation, the length of each stage
of the cycle generally varies and its timing may have a
negative affect on dry matter and nutrient accumulation
rates in fruits.
The period of fruit formation coincides with the period of
higher vegetative growth. For example, when there is
increased requirement for coffee nutrients, which
in the State of Espírito Santo, one of the principal regions
of coffee cultivation in Brazil, usually runs between
September to May.
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nutrients it is important for the grower to fully understand
the dynamics of fruit formation in order to recognize when
the periods of increased nutritional demands come around
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fertilization.
To compensate for the general lack of information on
this phenomena, a recent study was carried out in order
to establish dry matter and macronutrient accumulation
curves in fruits of ‘Conilon’ coffee plants with distinct
maturation cycles, which fall into the categories of early,
intermediate, late and very late.
Materials and methods
The trials were carried out in the state of Espírito Santo in
Brazil, a region which boasts an average elevation of 100
metres above sea level. Average minimum temperature
in the region from from 11.8 to 18°C, with a maximum
ranging from 30.7 to 34 °C.
The rainfall rate for the region is approximately 1,200 mm
annually. During the course of the trials, the coffee crop
Dry matter and macro-nutrient
accumulation in fruits of Conilon
coffee with different ripening cycles
In Brazil, one of the World’s leading
coffee producers, almost 25% of all
of coffee cultivated in the massive
country is of the C. Canephora variety