Yield mapping of arabic coffee and their relationship with plant nutritional status

Abstract

The aim of this study was to model the spatial variability of the nutritional status of arabic coffee using leaf macro and micronutrient contents and relate it to drop in bean yield, bark percentage and crop yield. The experiment was conducted in a plantation of arabic coffee variety Catua located in the Zona da Mata of Minas Gerais State. Leaf nutrient contents, cherry coffee production, drop in bean yield, yield of benefited coffee and bark percentage were determined. Data were analyzed using classical statistical methods to find the relationship between nutrients and yield variables and then examined by geostatistical analysis. The yield variables and leaf nutrients that were found related showed spatial dependence without random distribution. Nutritional imbalance was detected in the studied coffee crop expressed by the deficiency or excess of some nutrients in the plant tissue. Ca provided the smallest drop in bean yield while the leaf contents of B and Zn had an opposite effect on the production and yield of coffee.