Arabica coffee manual for Lao PDR (2024)

Coffee is a key industry of Lao PDR being the fifthlargest export earner for the country. The French first planted coffee in LaoPDR in the early 1900s on the Bolovens Plateaux in southern Lao. InitiallyRobusta, Arabica and Liberica species were planted, but due to Arabica leaf rustdisease and low prices for Liberica, Robusta has become the dominant coffeespecies grown. About the same time, new hybrid Arabica coffee was brought to Laoin a bid to stimulate the Arabica coffee industry. This Catimor variety ofArabica is resistant to the major disease of coffee leaf rust.

Coffee is the dominant farming system on the BolovensPlateaux, which cover an area of about 500 sq. km, ranging across altitudes of600 to 1300 m.a.s.l. (metres above sea level), at about latitude 15°North.This area produces about 95% of Lao coffee. Arabica coffee has been planted inrecent years in a number of the northern provinces of Lao PDR, but to date therelatively small volume of coffee beans produced has not encouraged processingand marketing.

Lao is at now beginning a major change in its coffee industry.In today's world coffee market, in which Lao PDR produces 0.25% of the worldproduction, the emphasis is to move production to higher-value Arabica ratherthan the lower-value Robusta coffee that is the current mainstay of theindustry.

The Government of Lao-PDR plans to increase planting ofArabica to create a balance of 50:50 Arabica:Robusta. Lao 2001 figures indicatethat there were 34,000 hectares planted to coffee (88% Robusta and 12% Arabica)and that 23,000 families were involved in coffee production.

The coffee industry in Lao PDR is a mixture of smallholder andlarge estates. Management systems range from high input intensive systems tosmallholders with zero inputs and low yields. Large estates have their ownprocessing and branding, with one company currently producing their own instantcoffee.

Lao has the potential to grow large amounts of high qualityArabica coffee. It has a very suitable climate, abundant land resources andfarmers who are eager for a viable cash crop. The volcanic red earth soils andclimate of the upper elevations of the Bolovens Plateaux are an excellent areato develop a specialised and valuable coffee industry. Although the Governmentof Lao is interested in developing this industry and there is a clear market forgood quality Lao Arabica coffee, it lacks funding support for the essentialresearch, development and extension to support the emerging industry.

There is also an opportunity to produce value-added'washed/semi-washed' Robusta coffee as Lao Robustas are already sought for theirclean, good bodied, neutral characters. Lao is atypical in that a large quantityof Robusta is grown at high altitudes of up to 1300 m.a.s.l. resulting in someunusual characteristics in this coffee. New processing, pulping and demucilagingtechnologies have been introduced by the FAO project to improve both Arabica andRobusta quality at affordable costs. These will offer some new opportunities forboth coffee Arabica and Robusta coffees.

Factors affecting yield andquality

There are three factors which impact greatly on coffee yieldand quality.

• Genetics(Genotype-species and varieties to plant)

• Environment

• The coffee plant and itsmanagement

Genotype species and varieties toplant

Species

There are two main species of commercial coffee - Coffeaarabica and C. canephora (robusta) and two minor commercial species -Coffea liberica and Coffea excelsa.

Arabica is a higher quality and higher value coffeenormally grown in cooler, elevated areas of the tropics and sub-tropics at 1000m or more above sea level. Arabica is used in the roast and ground coffee marketand is added to blends of Robusta to improve the quality of instant coffee.Brazil and Columbia are the major producing countries.

Robusta is a lower quality coffee and prices arenormally about 30 to 40% less than Arabica. Robusta is used mainly in instantcoffee and for blending with Arabicas to add body and crema. Robusta is normallygrown in warmer areas at lower elevations unsuited to Arabica, and is consideredresistant/tolerant to coffee rust. Lao PDR is an exception to this in thatRobusta is grown at higher elevations (up to nearly 1300 m.a.s.l.). Vietnam,Brazil and Indonesia are the largest Robusta producing countries. Compared withArabica, Robusta is generally more vigorous, more productive and less vulnerableto rust.

Liberica and Excelsa are grown mainly in low,hot climate areas. Quality is poor and markets are limited. These coffees are oflocal importance in a few countries and not of major commercial significance inthe international coffee market. Both are present in the older Lao plantations,but have little future in the era of high quality coffee.

For Arabica, the improvement of genotype is achieved by properchoice of variety (cultivar). The variety of choice should ideally have thefollowing characteristics:

• dwarfish orcompact growth;

• high yield;

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• leaf rust resistance,and

• outstanding cupquality.

Varieties to plant

Coffee is a long-term crop with a lifespan of more than 10years, and considerably longer under good management, thus the choice of variety(cultivar) is very important. As quality of the coffee bean is crucial forproduction of high-grade coffee, choose only varieties that are recommended foryour area. These will be the best yielding, best quality varieties that willgrow productively in the local soils and climate.

For the Bolovens Plateaux the recommended Arabica cultivarsare:

Arabica (especially at elevations above 1000m.a.s.l.):

Java
Typica

Other varieties are being tested at the Coffee ResearchExperimentation Centre and Dao Heuang Farm near Paksong (1180 m.a.s.l.). CRECwill advise in the future those varieties that are suitable for planting aftertrials and cupping tests are completed. Comments on these varieties and othersof significance being tested at CREC and Dao Heuang include these listed belowand on the following pages.

Typica

Java

S 795

Caturra

Catuai

SL 34

SL 28

SL 6

Catimor

Environment (siteselection)

To grow and produce good quality coffee, several importantenvironmental factors should be taken into account. These include:

• Elevation andtemperature;

• Rainfall and watersupply;

• Soil;

• Aspect and slope.

Elevation

Elevation influences a number of these factors and must beconsidered along with temperature, rainfall and water supply, soil, slope andaspect when determining where to plant coffee. An elevation greater than 1000 mabove sea level (m.a.s.l.) is required for Arabica coffee. Low elevation Arabicacoffee does not possess the quality required by the world markets. In Lao PDR,areas above 1000 metres are preferred for production of superior quality coffeeand the Bolovens Plateaux have ample areas of land at 1000 to 1300m.a.s.l.

High elevation improves the quality of the bean and potentialcupping quality. Due to a delay in ripening brought about by cooler weatherassociated with higher altitudes, the inherent characteristics of acidity, aromaand bold bean can develop fully. (Bold bean is classified as being the sizebetween a large and a medium sized bean, with its width/ length ratio biggerthan that of a large bean).

Temperature

Arabica coffee prefers a cool temperature with an optimumdaily temperature of between 20° to 24°C. The average meantemperatures of selected areas of the Bolovens Plateaux (Figure 1)are:

Temperatures greater than 30°C cause plant stress leadingto a cessation of photosynthesis. Mean temperatures of less than 15°C limitplant growth and are considered sub-optimal. Arabica coffee is frostsusceptible. Use of shade trees will reduce the incidence of frost.

Rainfall and water supply

Ideal rainfall for Arabica coffee is greater than 1200 to 1500mm per year. Both the total amount and the distribution pattern are important.Annual rainfall on the Bolovens Plateaux (Figure 2) is:

Rain should to be uniformly distributed over seven to ninemonths of the year, as is the case especially at higher elevations on theBolovens Plateaux. At lower elevations, the dry season is often too pronounced.Lack of rainfall in either amount or timing can be compensated for by usingirrigation.

Figure 1. Mean monthly temperatures on the BolovensPlateaux

Figure 2. Mean monthly rainfall on the BolovensPlateaux

Coffee needs a dry, stress period with little or no rain toinduce a uniform flowering. Without a stress period, flowering many extend overmany months making harvesting more difficult. Lao normally has such a stressperiod of three to four months of dry weather at elevations of 1000 m.a.s.l. ormore.

Soil type

For successful production, a free draining soil with a minimumdepth of one metre is required. Coffee will not tolerate waterlogging or 'wetfeet'.

Coffee can be grown on many different soil types, but theideal is a fertile, volcanic red earth or a deep, sandy loam. Yellow-brown, highsilt soils are less preferred. Avoid heavy clay or poor-draining soils. Mostsoils on the Bolovens Plateaux are volcanic red earths suitable forcoffee.

Coffee prefers a soil with pH of 5 to 6. Many cultivated soilsof the Bolovens Plateaux are acid (less than pH 5) and need lime or dolomite.Few soil test results exist, but indicator plants point to a pH less than 5 withlow available phosphorus and thus shortages of many other nutrients. Low pH willlimit crop performance by upsetting the availability of key nutrients to coffeeplants (see Figure 3).

Good management and applications of dolomite or lime can alterand improve soil pH and fertility.

Figure 3. Effect of soil pH on nutrientavailability

Slope and aspect (slope % and direction)

An easterly or southern facing aspect with a slope less than15% is preferable. Most locations on the Bolovens Plateaux have a gentle slopeand no extra measures are required. Steeper slopes present a major erosion riskand require terracing or special management such as contour furrows orpreferably grass strips.

A slight slope will improve air drainage and reduce damagefrom frost. Do not plant coffee at the bottom of a slope or in shallow dipswhere cold air can pool, as frost damage is more likely here. Usually it is bestnot to plant the bottom third of a slope as it will be colder and sometimeswaterlogged.

Exposed aspects subject to strong winds, should either beavoided or windbreaks such as Silver Oak (Grevillea robusta) establishedbefore planting the coffee trees.

Water supply

Coffee requires adequate water during the growing and croppingperiod, however it also requires a dry stress period followed by sufficient rainor irrigation to promote uniform flowering and a good fruit set.

Many plantings suffer from moisture stress at the time of yearwhen they need adequate water for growth and cropping (see the phenologicalcycle page 70). The local rainfall pattern indicates that supplementalirrigation, especially to induce uniform flowering and good fruit set, would bebeneficial. Unless regular rain is received, young trees should be irrigated (orhand watered at least twice a week if irrigation is not available) to ensureestablishment of the newly planted trees. Locating coffee plantings near a watersupply for possible irrigation as well as for processing of cherry isdesirable.

Water requirements can be reduced by use of proper,well-established, shade trees, mulch and cover crops. These practices arediscussed in later sections.

The coffee plant and itsmanagement

An understanding of the coffee plant, its make up and how itgrows is essential to understanding how to manage the coffee tree. Management,like the growing environment and the variety planted, has a very big influenceon coffee quality and yield. Much of the rest of this manual deals withpractical management of the coffee tree from planting to harvest.

Figure 4. Diagram showing parts of the coffee plant(above) and tree habit (below)

The shape of the coffee plant varies depending on the speciesand variety. All coffee trees consist of an upright main shoot (trunk) withprimary, secondary and tertiary lateral branches. The plant has a main taproot,lateral and small feeder roots (see Figure 4). The coffee tree produces twodistinct types of branches:

• Vertical ororthotropic branches have nodes at a regular distance and carry oppositeleaves. These branches are called suckers at the developing stage and stems atthe final stage. Each leaf pair is cross-positioned to the next leaf pair. Inthe axil of each leaf, are four to six serial buds and directly above them, oneslightly bigger bud called 'extra-axillary bud' because of its relativelydistant position. This extra-axillary bud develops into a plagiotropic orlateral, horizontal branch.

• Lateral or plagiotropicbranches grow almost at right angles from the main stems. No other bud inthe same axil can grow into a lateral branch, which means that if such a branchis cut off, no lateral regeneration can occur on the node of a mainvertical stem. Laterals are usually called primaries. Each serial bud on aprimary can develop into an inflorescence (flower) or into a secondary branch,which has a similar structure to the primary branch with serial buds thatdevelop either into flowers or tertiary branches. If a secondary branch is cutor removed, another secondary on the same axil can replace it, soregeneration of secondaries on primaries is possible.

Each branch has a terminal bud. In the nodes are a fixednumber of buds that have the potential to form 40 fruits depending mainly on thespecies and nutritional conditions. At each leaf node there are 5 buds each with4 flowers, which may form 20 fruits (Figure 5).

The white flowers appear in small bunches at the nodes. Afterpollination, a fruit develops into a cherry about 10 to 15 mm long containingtwo seeds (the coffee beans). Technically, the flowers form on the one-year-oldwood that is only slightly hardened. The fruits comprise pulp (coloured skin anda fleshy mesocarp called mucilage), then parchment, then the silverskin (seedcoat) and finally the coffee bean (Figure 6).

Figure 5. Potential of yields (left and diagramabove

Figure 6. Coffee cherries from green to ripe (above)and diagram showing parts of the cherry (right)

The root system

The role of the root system is to ensure that the plant isfirmly anchored in the soil and to take up a supply of water and minerals. Theroot system (Figure 7) consists of:

• a short taproot(40 to 60 cm) long;

• vertical, coaxial roots whichare often very long (particularly in light soils) lateral roots with numerousabsorbing root hairs, particularly in the upper, humus-bearing layer (30cm)

Figure 7. Root system

It is necessary to stress the importance of growing techniques(pricking out in nurseries, weeding, mulching, irrigation and planting layouts)on the distribution and function of the roots. The first three years arecritical for the root system development when it is vital that plants are wellsupplied with nitrogen, phosphorous, calcium, magnesium and sulphur.

Phenology (Crop cycle)

The phenology of the coffee plant refers to the physical andphysiological developmental stages of the coffee plant throughout the year.Phenology is often referred to as the crop cycle or the phenological cycle ofthe plant.

Coffee, like all plants responds to the changing environment(temperature, rainfall, drought, day length) in which it grows as influenced bythe seasons. As the seasons change, the coffee tree switches from vegetative(root and shoot growth) to reproductive growth and as the plant grows, itflowers, sets fruit, matures the fruit and is ready for harvest and re-growthfor the next cycle.

The phenological cycle gives excellent indicators of when tofertilise, irrigate, withhold water, prune, take leaf and soil analyses, checkfor pests and diseases and apply controls for them. Timing is very importantwhen using these practices to optimise production from the coffeetree.