Growth and Productivity of Coffea arabica var. Esperanza L4A5 in Different Agroforestry Systems in the Caribbean Region of Costa Rica

Victor Hugo Morales Peña (), Argenis Mora Garcés, Elias De Melo Virginio Filho and Mario Villatoro Sánchez
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Victor Hugo Morales Peña: Universidad EARTH, Centro de Geomática y Detección Remota, Guácimo 70602, Costa Rica
Argenis Mora Garcés: Corporación Colombiana de Investigación Agropecuaria, AGROSAVIA, Villavicencio 250047, Colombia
Elias De Melo Virginio Filho: CATIE—Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza, Turrialba 30501, Costa Rica
Mario Villatoro Sánchez: UCR—Universidad de Costa Rica, Escuela de Agronomía, Centro de Investigaciones Agronómicas, San José 11501, Costa Rica

Agriculture, 2024, vol. 14, issue 10, 1-27

Abstract: This study focused on evaluating the growth and productivity of Coffea arabica var. Esperanza L4A5 in different agroforestry systems in the Caribbean region of Costa Rica, a non-traditional area for coffee cultivation due to its low altitude and challenging climatic conditions. Three tree coverages were investigated, in combination with two types of differentiated fertilization (physical and chemical), comparing the results with full sun coffee plots as a control: (1) Albizia saman , (2) Hymenaea courbaril + Erythrina poeppigiana , and (3) Anacardium excelsum + Erythrina poeppigiana . The results showed that tree associations significantly reduced the mortality of coffee plants and increased both the height and mature cherry production compared to full sun treatments. In particular, the tree coverages associated with chemical and physical fertilization achieved the highest growth and production rates, with A. excelsum + E. poeppigiana and H. courbaril + E. poeppigiana standing out with maximum mature cherry productions of 3.35 t/ha and 3.28 t/ha, respectively. Growth analysis revealed that rapid initial growth, especially under chemical fertilization, is crucial for maximizing productivity, although a rapid slowdown in growth was also observed after reaching the peak. These findings underscore the importance of combining tree coverages with appropriate fertilization strategies to optimize coffee production in agroforestry systems, particularly in low-altitude areas like the Costa Rican Caribbean. This study concludes that agroforestry systems not only improve the resilience of coffee crops to adverse environmental conditions but can also be a viable strategy for increasing productivity in non-conventional regions. This suggests the need for further research to assess the long-term impacts on soil health, biodiversity, and the economic viability of these systems.

Keywords: Coffea arabica var. Esperanza L4A5; genetic improvement; agroforestry systems; differentiated fertilization; Caribbean region of Costa Rica; shade percentage; coffee cherry production; logistic growth model; absolute growth rate (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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