Changes in Microclimate and Arabica Coffee Quality when Intercropped with Macadamia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25186/.v21i.2481Abstract
A series of studies has demonstrated that intercropping Arabica coffee with macadamia trees can increase coffee yield, land-use efficiency, and farmer income, but there is no information if it also improves coffee beverage quality by altering the microclimate of the crop canopy. This study aimed to assess the changes in the microclimate of an adult Arabica coffee crop (Obatã IAC 1669-20) when intercropped with the macadamia tree cultivar HAES 816, and to evaluate the coffee bean and beverage quality in intercropping with six macadamia cultivars (HAES 344, HAES 660, HAES 816, IAC 4–12B, IAC 4–20, and IAC 9–20) in southeastern Brazil. Five replicates were randomly selected from each treatment area. Macadamia intercropping reduced the extremes and mean air temperature (0.7 oC), incident solar radiation (24%), and the wind speed (39% maximum and 49% mean values) in the coffee canopy compared to
monocropped coffee. The average relative air humidity was 1.9% higher in the intercrops than in the monocrops. The intercropping delayed coffee berry ripening and resulted in a larger bean size and higher hulled bean yield and beverage scores, but the coffee quality did not vary with the intercropped macadamia cultivar. Intercropping with macadamia trees provided a milder and more favorable environment for Arabica coffee plants than monocrops, which is a suitable strategy for higher-quality coffee beverage production.
Key words: Coffea arabica; Macadamia integrifolia; intercropping; beverage quality; agroforesty.
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