saparapi.id – How to Cultivate Robusta Coffee: Coffee is an annual plant that can reach a productive age of up to 20 years. Coffee is the most traded plantation commodity, so it’s no wonder coffee is grown or cultivated widely.
The centers of this coffee cultivation are in Latin America, Asia-Pacific, Central America and Africa. Meanwhile, the largest coffee consumers are in countries in Europe and North America.
There are 2 main varieties of coffee plants that are widely used, namely Arabica coffee (Coffea arabica) and Robusta coffee (Coffea robusta).
But apart from these 2 types of coffee there are also derivative varieties or sub-varieties of Arabica and Robusta coffee, one of which is original Indonesian civet coffee. This time we will discuss how to grow robusta coffee.
Types of Robusta Coffee Beans
Before we get into the cultivation of Robusta Coffee, our advice is that you have to choose the type of coffee seeds you will plant. these are the Robusta coffee beans you can choose from:
- Clone Sa 436 is the most superior robusta coffee bean. Because in one hectare, if the fruit is normal, it can produce up to 3000 kg per hectare per year. But apart from having the advantage, for the size of the shape of the coffee produced, each uniform has a small size. there is also a large size. not even in one tree.
- Clone Bp 308 which is a superior robusta coffee bean and is more resistant to various diseases. This type of seed will also adapt more easily in a new environment, even though we planted it in nutrient-deficient soil even though these seeds survived perfectly.
- Clone Bp 42 is a robusta coffee seed that has a higher productivity level. Some farmers who have successfully cultivated the Bp 42 clone per hectare of coffee can produce up to 1,300 kg per year.
If you have determined the type of seed you will choose and plant, then we will enter the Robusta coffee cultivation process.
Steps and Methods of Cultivating Robusta Coffee
For those of you who are curious about how to cultivate Robusta coffee, let’s look at the following steps on how to cultivate Robusta coffee.
1. Growing Requirements
Should be planted in a tropical climate on the plains which have an altitude of 400-600 meters above sea level. The temperature for growing coffee is between 24 – 40 degrees Celsius and the temperature for growing robusta coffee is at 75 degrees Fahrenheit.
And rainfall reaches 2000 – 3000 mm / year. Robusta coffee will grow optimally in fertile soil and has acidity or pH 4.5 – 6.5.
2. Seed Preparation
- Coffee that will be used as seeds is coffee that has been cooked physiologically or is red in color.
- Seedlings are selected from healthy mother plants, have been produced about 4-5 times, and are tolerant to pests and diseases.
- Furthermore, separate the skin from the seeds, then the seeds are washed and dried and not exposed to the sun to do the seeding or germination for about 2.5 months using soil and sand media. The size of the nursery media is about 10x120x35 cm and is covered or shaded with dry straw or reeds.
- If the seeds have germinated, the seeds are transplanted into polybags with planting media in the form of a mixture of soil and manure. Plant seeds in polybags. Seedlings can be transplanted into the planting area when they are about 5-6 months old.
- Choose good quality seeds, so that Robusta coffee plants can grow properly and optimally. And what you can do to get high-quality and high-quality coffee beans is to buy coffee beans at kiosks or coffee shop sellers who really have quality and authenticity that is truly trusted.
3. Land preparation
The land to be used for planting or growing Robusta coffee is first cleaned of weeds or other disturbing plants. Next do off the ground by hoeing or plowing.
Actually, the most important land preparation when cultivating Robusta coffee is preparing really fertile land and making holes in the soil planting medium. The following process is to make a planting hole:
- Make a plant hole with a diameter of 60 cm, with a depth of up to 60 cm. The holes are made 3-4 months before the seeds are planted with a spacing of 2.5 x 2.5 cm.
- Separate the top from the bottom and the top of the ground.
- After one month the planting hole is made, add sulfur, dolomite lime 200 grams each and mix the bottom part of the soil and then put it back into the planting hole, this method aims to neutralize soil acidity or PH.
- One month later or 1 month before planting, add organic fertilizer or fermented fertilizer as much as 10-20 kg (depending on soil fertility) and then mix it with topsoil excavation and then put it in the planting hole.
4. Planting of protective plants
To reduce the intensity of direct light to plants in the critical phase of 1-2 years, to maintain moisture and can be used as organic fertilizer, it is necessary to plant plants or trees in the form of lamtoro trees.
Lamtoro trees are planted 2-3 months before robusta coffee beans are planted in fields with double or rectangular fenced planting patterns.
5. Robusta Coffee Planting Process
- Before planting, peel the leaves of the coffee tree until 1/3 is left, this method aims to reduce evaporation on the coffee plant
- Next, carefully remove the coffee beans from the plastic wrap or polybag so that the roots are not damaged
- Dig back into the hole that was previously covered in fertilizer, just a little bit
- For the depth of the hole, try to match the length of the roots of the coffee seedlings
- And put it in the hole then close the planting hole again
- For newly planted seedlings, we recommend making markers to support the seedlings so they don’t topple over.
6. Treatment of Robusta Coffee Fruit
Do weeds or other disturbing plants in the soil. Weeding can be done manually using a scraper or something else or it can also be done chemically using herbicides.
Pembubunan lifts the soil around the coffee plants with the aim of loosening the soil. Hoarding activities are carried out simultaneously with weeding.
The first fertilization is done when the plants are about 2 months after planting using urea, SP-36 and KCl fertilizers, the dose given for coffee plants is given based on the age of the coffee plants.
Giving this fertilizer is done by sowing or soaking it by making arrays.
- Pruning shade trees
Cut the shade tree if the shade tree is thick.
7. Robusta Coffee Harvesting Process
Ideally, the harvest time for planting Robusta coffee is when the plants have reached the age of 3 years after planting. For the first time the plants will bear fruit, and the peak of coffee will bear fruit or what is often called a big harvest is when the coffee is 7-9 years old.
if you grow your coffee in the same good and thorough way as above, you will likely get satisfactory results.
And the coffee harvesting process can be harvested when the coffee beans look old, characteristic if we hold the coffee beans and press them hard or the coffee cherries are red.
Closing
Thus the lesson on how to properly cultivate Robusta coffee so that the harvest is abundant, which we can convey, hopefully it will be useful for all of you.
Thank you for studying with us and see you in our next article.
Also Read:
