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Home / Agriculture / The Impact of Climate Change on Coffeeby Dr. Anand Titus and Geeta N. Pereira Page 1 | Page 2 FRUITINGAccording to the research work carried out by CCRI, The growth of Arabica fruits under south Indian conditions shows a bisigmoidal curve with two grand periods of growth during 118 to 152 and 183 to 212 days after blossom. Robusta coffee takes 6 to 8 weeks more than Arabica coffee for fruit maturity and ripening.
The effect of climate change has impacted the fruiting pattern in both Arabica and Robusta. As a result the farmers commonly observe premature fruit drop. Due to the uneven distribution of rainfall (Sudden down pours & long spells of drought) the plant is subjected to wet feet during monsoon periods and drought during the summer months. The soil pores are waterlogged. A combination of favorable factors for high pest and disease incidence. The resulting defoliation and leaf rust significantly affects the crop.
The change in climatic conditions like sudden drop in night temperature, cloudy weather, high relative humidity especially at the time of flowering results in multiple blossoms leading to different stages in berry growth and development. The plant is physiologically stressed and the imbalance in the Biochemical constituents leads to premature fruit drop. BEAN DISORDERS
At the time of picking, coffee farmers are perplexed as to the low outturn in the coffee picked. The reasons for low outturn are mainly due to the short supply or depletion of carbohydrates leading to less sugar and starch in beans when compared to healthy beans. We have also observed a higher proportion of single beans in Robusta whenever the bush is exposed to low light intensity due to cloudy weather in the months of august, September and October. LEAF TO FRUIT RATIOThe internal biological clock determines the effective leaf to fruit ratio. The metabolic changes include a redistribution of water, growth substances, sugars, nitrogenous compounds, organic acids and inorganic ions from roots, stem, and leaves.
According to the research work carried out by CCRI, the leaf to fruit ratio on Coffee Arabica cv S 795 and Coffea canephora cv S 274 was found to be 1:3 and 1:6 respectively. This ratio may vary from season to season depending on berry drop and defoliation. Their further studies revealed that 17 cm2 and 27 cm2 of foliar areas were required to produce one fruit in Arabica and Robusta respectively. In effect their findings point out to a very important fact that a proper balance between leaves and number of fruits will sustain a crop over a number of seasons without adversely affecting the health of the plant.
We have noticed that in both Robusta cultivars, old Robusta and S 274 the photosynthates are increasingly being earmarked for vegetative growth leading to lower fruit ratio. The leaf size is above normal, thickened with a waxy coating and internodes too are shortened. In Arabica, the carbohydrates are diverted towards berry formation leading to regular fruit drop and defoliation. SUMMARY OF EVENTS FOR THE CROPPING PERIOD 2008-2009
CONCLUSIONEnvironmental factors like sunlight, moisture and temperature plays a crucial role in the growth pattern of coffee that leads to formation of roots, shoots, leaves, flowers and other structural entities characteristic of the plant. Even a slight deviation from the normal pattern can have great impact on the yields of coffee. All biologically important reactions taking place inside the coffee bush are governed by a set of stable environmental conditions. In particular the bush is quite sensitive to temperature variations. If temperatures are too low, biological reactions are stifled by inadequate energy, while the complex structures of proteins become disrupted by temperature extremes in either direction. The engine of growth driving the coffee forest ecosystem is the solar radiation. Due to the impact of climate change the entire range of forests is subjected to an unpredictable regime of light and temperature. This impacts most of the biological processes. resulting in low yields and high pest and disease incidence. Climate change has directly affected coffee farms worldwide. The monsoon dynamics has totally changed. A time may soon come where coffee may not be the preferred crop inside coffee forests. This can result in serious ecological damage across the length and breadth of the coffee mountain. The future of 25 million coffee farmers and workers in underdeveloped and developing countries is also at stake. It is in humanities best interest to save the coffee forest. REFERENCESineedcoffee.com/by/dr._anand_titus_and_geeta_n._pereira/ Brock. T. D. 1979. Biology of Microorganisms. Third Edition. Englewood Cliffs. Prentice-Hall. Coffee Guide. 2000. Central Coffee Research Institute, Coffee Research Station. Chikmagalur District. Karnataka. India. De Witt. W. 1977. Biology of the cell. An Evolutionary Approach. W.B. Saunders Company. Philadelphia, London, Toronto. . Goldsby. R. A.1979. Biology. Second Edition. Harper and Row publishers Inc. Leopold. C. A. and Kriedemann. P. E. 1975. Plant Growth and Development. 2nd edition. Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Company LTD. New Delhi. Mitchell. H.W. 1988. Cultivation and Harvesting of Arabica coffee tree. In Clarke, R.J. and Macnae. R. (Eds). Coffee. Vol.4. Agronomy (pp. 43-90). Elsevier Applied Science. London and New York. Noggle. R. G. and Fritz. J. G.1986. Introductory Plant Physiology. 2nd edition. Prentice-Hall of India Private Limited. New Delhi. Tilman. D. 1982. Resource Competition and Community Structure. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ. Kotpal, R.L. and N.P. Bali. 2003. Concepts of Ecology. : Environmental and field biology. Vishal Publishing Company, India. FLICKR Gallery for The Impact of Climate Change on Coffee Page 1 | Page 2 |
