Plantation Crops (2+1)

Soil requirement

 
• Coffee is not very specific with respect to its soil requirements. Important features of ideal soil for profitable coffee cultivation are

  1) Soil depth :

  • It should be more than 75 cm Shallow or compact soil: Poor root development and spread. Roots develop only on upper horizons and it rarely goes deeper than 30 cm Deep and permeable soil (>75 cm): Well developed tap root system, and rhizosphere occupy considerable soil volume.

2) Soil PH:

• Slightly acidic to neutral pH is preferred ( PH of 4.50 to 6.00 and even upto 7.00)

Sl. No.	Climatic Factors	Arabica coffee	Robusta coffee
1.	Soils	Deep, friable, rich in organic matter, well-drained and slightly acidic PH ( PH of 6 to 6.50)	Same as in arabica
2.	Extent of Slope	Gentle to moderate slope is ideal	Gentle slope to fairly level fields to be preferred
3.	Aspect	North/East/North-Eastern aspects are ideal	North/East/North-Eastern aspects are ideal
4.	Elevation for better growth and yield (m)	1000 to 1500m	500 to 1000m
5.	Temperature	15 °C to 25 °C, cool equable	20°C to 30 °C, hot, humid
6.	Relative humidity	70 to80 %	80 ot 90 %
7.	Annual rainfall	1600 mm to 2500 mm	1000 to 2000 mm
8.	Blossom showers ( 25 to 40 mm)	March – April	February – March
9.	Backing showers (50-75 mm)	April – May	March – April
10.	Extent of shade	Medium to light shade depending on the elevation and aspects	Uniform thin shade

Table: Soil and climatic requirement for coffee