Shade management in coffee and cacao plantations

Abstract

Abstract. Shade trees reduce the stress of coffee (Coffea spp.) and cacao (Theobroma cacao) by ameliorating adverse climatic conditions and nutritional imbalances, but they may also compete for growth resources. For example, shade trees buffer high and low temperature extremes by as much as 5 oc and can produce up to 14 Mg ha-1 yr-1 of litterfall and pruning residues, containing up to 340 kg N ha-1 yr-1 • However, N 2 fixation by leguminous shade trees grown at a density of 100 to 300 trees ha-1 may not exceed 60 kg N ha-1 yr-1 • Shade tree selection and management are potentially important tools for integrated pest management because increased shade may increase the incidence of some commercially important pests and diseases (such as Phythphora palmivora and Mycena citricolor) and decrease the incidence of others (such as Colletotrichum gloeosporioides and Cercospora coffeicola). In Central America, merchantable timber production from commercially important shade tree species, such as Cordia alliodora, is in the range of 4-6 m 3 ha-1 yr-1 _ The relative importance and overall effect of the different interactions between shade trees and coffee/cacao are dependent upon site conditions (soil/climate), component selection (species/varieties/provenances), belowground and aboveground characteristics of the trees and crops, and management practices. On optimal sites, coffee can be grown without shade using high agrochemical inputs. However, economic evaluations, which include off-site impacts such as ground water contamination, are needed to judge the desirability of this approach. Moreover, standard silvicultural practices for closed plantations need to be adapted for open-grown trees within coffee/cacao plantations.

Ecophysiology of coffee growth and production

“…The question of whether the coffee tree benefits or not from an association with shelter trees has been under dispute for more than a century (Lock, 1888;Mayne, 1966;Gopal et al, 1970;Fournier, 1988;Beer et al, 1998;DaMatta and Rena, 2002;DaMatta, 2004a,b;van der Vossen, 2005;. In spite of this, such plantations do show beneficial features.…”

“…Also, shade may positively affect bean size and composition as well as beverage quality (lesser bitterness and astringency) by delaying and synchronizing berry flesh ripening (Muschler, 2001;Vaast et al, 2006). Taken together, these characteristics of shaded coffee have stimulated renewed interest in the use of shade trees, especially in areas where they had previously been eliminated (Beer et al, 1998;.…”

“…Nevertheless, it should be emphasized that under optimal or near-optimal edaphoclimatic conditions for coffee cultivation, such as those of the highlands (600-900 m above sea level) of southeastern Brazil, shading provides little, if any, benefit to the crop; in most cases it is even detrimental (Camargo, 1990;Campanha et al, 2004;Morais et al, 2006). Further comments on benefits and risks of using shade trees and criteria for selecting adequate species for agroforestry coffee systems are beyond the scope of this paper, so the reader is referred to comprehensive reviews by Beer (1987) and Beer et al (1998). Muschler (1997) also discusses criteria for using shelter trees for coffee plantations based on (i) production objective(s), (ii) environmental factors, and (iii) level and quality of inputs available to improve the environment for the coffee tree.…”

Alterações morfofisiológicas em folhas de Coffea arabica L. cv. "Oeiras" sob influência do sombreamento por Acacia mangium Willd

“…Porém, alguns autores apontam que cafeeiros sob sombra apresentam maiores taxas fotossintéticas, maior crescimento, maior resistência à seca e produções mais constantes ao longo dos anos, uma vez que a redução da radiação pelas árvores e a manutenção do microclima ao longo do ano pode evitar danos por fotoinibição e fotooxidação, reduzindo o efeito da bianualidade sobre a produção (BEER et al, 1997;FAHL et al, 1989;FREITAS et al, 2003;CAMPANHA et al, 2004).…”

Radiação solar e saldo de radiação em cultivo de café a pleno sol e consorciado com banana 'Prata Anã

“…Vários autores estudaram o efeito do sombreamento natural no cultivo de café enfocando o microclima da cultura, crescimento de plantas, produtividade e qualidade da bebida (BARRADAS e FANJUL, 1986;BAGGIO et al, 1997;MIGUEL et al, 1995;BEER et al, 1998;PEETERS et al, 2002). Nesses trabalhos, os autores descrevem o sombreamento de maneira qualitativa, seja pelo tipo de árvore utilizada, seja pela densidade de plantio da cultura intercalar, porém poucos autores determinaram a quantidade de interceptação de maneira quantitativa, como é o caso dos trabalhos de PEZZOPANE et al (2003), em um sistema consorciado de cafeeiro com coqueiro-anão verde e de FARFAN-VALENCIA et al (2003), em sistemas arborizados de café na Colômbia.…”