No Reduction in Yield of Young Robusta Coffee When Grown under Shade Trees in Ecuadorian Amazonia.

Little is known on what impact shade trees have on the physiology of (robusta coffee) under tropical humid conditions. To fill this gap, a field experiment was conducted in the Ecuadorian Amazon to investigate how growth, nutrition (leaf N), phenological state (BBCH-scale) and yield of 5-year-old robusta coffee shrubs are affected by the presence or absence of leguminous trees, the type (organic v conventional) and intensity of management. The experiment was a factorial 5 × 4 design with four cropping systems: intensive conventional (IC), moderate conventional (MC), intensive organic (IO) and low organic (LO), and with five shading systems in a split-plot arrangement: full sun (SUN), both spp.

Organic Farming Practices and Shade Trees Reduce Pest Infestations in Robusta Coffee Systems in Amazonia.

Coffee agroforestry systems could reconcile agricultural and environmental objectives. While pests and diseases can reduce yield, their interactions with shade and nutrition have been rarely researched, and are particularly lacking in perennial systems. We hypothesized that intermediate shade levels could reduce coffee pests while excess shade could favor fungal diseases.