YIELD AND PHYSICAL QUALITY OF COFFEE BEANS (Coffea arabica L.) VARIETY COSTA RICA 95

Abstract

Background: Coffee is the second most consumed drink in the world, only after water. Quality characteristics are the most recurrent demands of consumers, which are of multifactorial origin and among which is agronomic management where soil nutrition or foliar nutrition of the plant is considered. Objective: To evaluate the yield and physical quality of the bean and cup of coffee (Coffea arabica L.) variety Costa Rica 95 by applying foliar fertilizer. Methodology: The evaluation was carried out in the La Laja community, municipality of Tlaltetela, Veracruz between 2018 and 2019. The age of the plantation used was four years and established with chalahuite shade (Inga spuria Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd). The design used was a complete randomized block with two treatments (commercial control and treatment with foliar fertilization), with three repetitions each; the experimental unit consisted of a 300 m2 plot and five coffee harvests were carried out, which were according to the number of flowerings during the 2018-2019 cycle. The physical evaluation was carried out according to the Official Mexican Standard NMX-F-162-SCFI-2008 and the NOM SCAA (2013).  Results: The highest cherry yield and brix degrees were observed in the fertilized treatment with 12,897.8 kg ha-1 and 20.06, respectively; in floats (waste) and snail (malformation), the highest weights were observed in the control treatment with 1,696.11 kg ha-1 and 21.4 grams, respectively. The total sum of the sensory analysis was 81.3 and 85.2 for the treatments: control and fertilized, respectively. Higher numbers of grains were observed in sieves 19, 18 and 17 that are classified for the international scale. Implications: There is a positive effect of foliar fertilizer on the yield of cherry coffee and cup quality of Costa Rica coffee 95 and opens a range of possibilities to carry out a greater number of fertilization tests in the field, being able to compare an additional factor such as, for example, the climate (rain, drought, cold, heat, etc.). These studies should be carried out in the same area in which this experiment was carried out to compare whether the response shown is due solely to foliar fertilizer or there is an influence of climate, as well as management. It must be considered that the quality of coffee is multifactorial; in addition to environmental and genetic factors, there is management (nutrition, phytosanitary protection, pruning), harvest, among others. Conclusion: Foliar fertilization considerably improved the variables of interest evaluated in Costa Rica 95 coffee through the application of foliar fertilization, in addition to the fact that no primary or secondary defects were significantly present.