Coffee Arabica
TREE FRIEND DATA SHEET
a) Record average expected life of tree in years from sprout to death. (Looking for approx numbers)
– 10 to 15 years
b) Years until trees 1st fruit. (i.e. 8. some trees can be fruiting within a few years others can take decades.)
– First fruits can be expected three to four years from the time seedlings are planted in the ground.
c) Season of year when productive tree fruits. (I.e. Summer, autumn, Winter Spring or combo i.e. Su/Au)
Fruiting/harvesting months are May, June, July, August, September (late autumn – early spring)
d) Expected or avg number years tree expected to fruit for once it begins.
Age 3 – age 10 (circa 7 years). Yield is greatest at 5 to 8 years after planting and declines thereafter.
e) Country/area of origin
Origin in Ethiopia, but first utilised in Turkey. Plants prefer Tropical, Subtropical.
f) Average annual rainfall in area of origin
Turkey rainfall 580 – 1300 mm (my locality – Logan City rainfall 1116 mm)
g) Latin name of tree and family
Latin: Coffee Arabica
Phylum Tracheophyta (Vascular plants with lignified (conductive) tissues.
Class Magnoliopsida (Dicots – i.e. taproot and smaller secondary roots)
Order Gentianales (includes e coffee, frangipani, Gardenia, gentian, oleander)
Family Rubiaceae (having simple, opposite leaves with interpetiolar stipules)
Genus Coffea
h) Additional Information.
- Is a woody perennial evergreen dicotyledon that belongs to the Rubiaceae family.
- Has a main vertical trunk (orthotropic)
- Has primary, secondary, and tertiary horizontal branches (plagiotropic).
- Termites cannot survive on coffee trees unless there is dead wood on which to feed.
- Effective pruning of dead wood on coffee trees is important
- Prefers Full (Sun: 80%-100%), Part (Sun: 50-80%)
- Moderate Watering required
- Prefers temperatures above 5 degrees
- The optimum mean annual temperature range for Arabica coffee is 18-21 degrees Celsius
- Disease (scale) prevention: natural predators of coffee scale such as wasps, ladybugs and Verticillium fungus (In many instances will reduce the level of scale infestation).
i) Height, width and shape of tree at maturity (in meters). Please find measure for both diameter of trunk and also arbour (the tree foliage)
* Tree height at maturity: Arabica cultivars can grow to heights of 4 to 5 meters
(Wild Tree Height: wild plants grow as high as 9 or even 12 metres)
(Can prune to 2.0 meters).
* Tree width at maturity (trunk): C. Arabica cultivars 20–30 cm in trunk girth.
* Tree width at maturity (arbour): 2 to 3 metres
j) Challenges or special requirements, such as needing other varieties in order to fruit
The plant can self-pollinate (has female parts (pistil), and male parts (stamen). On top of the pistil is the (sticky) stigma. The stamen produces pollen. Pollination can occur when pollen enters the stamen)
Research
Australian subtropical coffee grower’s manual (Rural Industries) June 2014 RIRDC Publication No. 14/029 PDF https://rirdc.infoservices.com.au/downloads/14-029
Daley’s Fruit trees
https://www.daleysfruit.com.au/Coffee-Tree-K7.htm
Local Area Weather
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/climate/station.jsp?lt=site&lc=40854
Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations: Document Repository
https://www.fao.org/docrep/008/ae939e/ae939e0b.htm
Brazilian Journal of Plant Physiology Braz. J. Plant Physiol. vol.19 no.4 Londrina Oct./Dec. 2007
https://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1677-04202007000400014
Horticultural Science 36(2):269–273. 2001.
Growth, Production, and Bean Quality of Coffea Arabica as Affected by Interspecific Grafting: Consequences for Rootstock Breeding (Benoît Bertrand and Hervé Etienne) Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement/ Instituto Interamericano de Cooperación Agrícola— (Programa Cooperativo Regional para el Desarollo Tecnológico yModernización de la Caficultura en Centramerica y Caribe), CIRAD/IICA/ PROMECAFE, Ap 55, 2200 Coronado, San José, Costa Rica.
https://hortsci.ashspublications.org/content/36/2/269.full.pdf
