Affiliation:
1. Center for Plant Nutrition and Environmental Research, Yara International, 48249 Dülmen, Germany
2. Yara Colombia, Bogotá 130009, Colombia
Abstract
Coffee production around the world is under threat due to climate variability and change, and drought stress will increase in many coffee regions; nutrient management practices can enhance the adaptation capacity of coffee production. Considering that coffee is a crop sensitive to boron (B) deficiency, this research investigated how B nutrition improves resistance to drought stress in coffee under controlled conditions as well as how the interaction with calcium (Ca2+) influences productivity, seed composition, and soil fertility during a production cycle of 5 years. Under controlled conditions for seven months, coffee plants were submitted to water stress with and without B nutrition. In the field, the coffee plantation was exposed to two B rates (0.6 and 1.1 kg.ha−1-year−1) with a fixed calcium (Ca2+) rate and a control without Ca2+ and B. After 9 months of growth and seven months of water deficit, under controlled conditions, the application of B significantly (p < 0.05) reduced the negative effect of water stress on coffee growth. Under field conditions, after a production cycle of 5 years, the application of 0.6 kg B and 77 kg CaO. ha−1.year−1 yielded 14% more than the control without B and Ca2+. An increase in the B rate to 1.1 kg.ha−1.year−1 with the same Ca2+ rate increased the productivity significantly (p < 0.05) by 37% compared to the control. The B application also improved significantly (p < 0.05) the B content in the soil at 0–30 cm. The B treatments influenced the biochemical composition of the green coffee beans, with a significant (p < 0.05) inverse correlation between the B content of the green coffee beans and caffeine and unsaturated fatty acids (UFAs), mainly, oleic, linoleic, and linolenic acids, which are considered negative descriptors of the coffee quality.
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