Bruno Pacheco – Cenarium Magazine
MANAUS – Researchers from the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa) present during the Week of the Coffee Culture in Amazonas, respectively, in Itacoatiara, Silves and Manaus, the results of research with new hybrid coffee cultivars, called “Amazon Robustas”. The event starts this Tuesday, the 17th, and continues through the 18th and 20th of this month. The variety, tested in the State’s conditions, has a greater productive capacity and represents a sustainable income alternative for the small farmer.
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Researcher Marcelo Curitiba, coordinator of research actions with the coffee culture in Amazonas, explains to CENARIUM MAGAZINE that a first cycle of research, conducted over seven years (2014 to 2021), tested and validated for cultivation in Amazonas the BRS Ouro Preto coffee variety, composed of 15 clonal genotypes of the Conilon botanical group. As of 2019, a second cycle was started with the new cultivars, showing higher potential than the first.
Also according to the researcher, the Amazon Robustas, different from the Conilon botanical variety, are clones whose plants are taller and have less tolerance to drought, besides presenting greater vegetative vigor, potential for beverage quality and tolerance to pests and diseases. The recommendation for farmers, reminds Curitiba, is that a minimum of six clones be planted together for the plantation to be successful, because of the need for pollination between plants.
“These Robustas, besides having a difference in phenotypic characteristics, are also being worked differently. In BRS Ouro Preto we were working with a cultivar with 15 clones. In the Robustas Amazônicos we are working with clones in an individualized way. In other words, the producer will choose which clone he intends to plant”, explained Curitiba.
New reality
For the Embrapa researcher, clonal coffee growing in the Amazon is already a reality and, according to the company’s research results, a viable culture. According to Marcelo Curitiba, the first clonal cultivation record registered in Amazonas was in the municipality of Apuí, between 2013 and 2014. Soon, the city of Silves also started planting clones.
“Coffee production in the Amazon is not something new, in fact, reports show that coffee was introduced in Brazil by the state of Pará. In the Juruá Valley, we have reports of coffee cultivation in the 1930s, in Rondônia in the 19th century. A new reality is clonal cultivation, which started in Rondônia in the 1990’s, but in Amazonas this is recent”, he recalled.
Currently, emphasizes the researcher, there are experimental clonal coffee plantations in Itacoatiara, Silves, Manaus, Urucará, Presidente Figueiredo, Coari, Humaitá, Apuí, Lábrea, among other regions in the interior of Amazonas. Marcelo Curitiba alerts that, despite this type of cultivation showing good production, it needs to go hand in hand with adequate management, such as pruning, pest and disease control, and other alternatives that guarantee the development of the plants.
“This crop has shown good productivity. But it is important to emphasize that the clonal is a form of propagation that favors the predominance of the positive characteristics of the selected matrices. If we plant clonal coffee plants and do not have the proper management, this productivity will not be the expected one”, he warned.
Coffee Week
The Coffee Culture Week is a promotional event for the coffee culture in Amazonas, held through a partnership between Embrapa, the Agriculture and Sustainable Forestry Institute of the State of Amazonas (Idam), the Federal University of Amazonas (Ufam), and the Amazonas Solidarity Association (ASA). The event is aimed at farmers, agricultural technicians, and people interested in coffee production.
The program started on Tuesday, May 17, in the city of Itacoatiara, with the first Field Day, from 8am to 1pm, at Sítio JotaPê, at kilometer 8 of the AM 010 highway, (Itacoatiara-Manaus direction). On Wednesday, May 18, the program continues in Silves, at the headquarters of the Association of Solidarity Amazonas (ASA), Highway AM-363, Km 77, also from 8am to 1pm.
On Friday, 20, the Field Day will be in Manaus, from 8 am to 1 pm, at the Farm of Ufam (FAEXP), located on Highway BR 174, KM 38 (Manaus-Presidente Figueiredo direction).
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