Researchers from EPAMIG and Embrapa Café monitor the performance of new coffee cultivars

Researchers from the Agricultural Research Company of Minas Gerais (EPAMIG) and Embrapa Café are monitoring the evolution of the demonstration units that are part of the project to evaluate the performance of new coffee cultivars for the state of Minas Gerais. “We are in the third round of visits to properties, which now marks the first year of experiments in the field”, explains EPAMIG researcher, Gladyston Carvalho, project coordinator.

The work, carried out in partnership by the two institutions, seeks to identify coffee varieties that are most suitable for different climate, soil and relief conditions. The 42 demonstration units were implemented, between the end of 2021 and the beginning of 2022, in 41 municipalities in the South, Southwest, West, Campo das Vertentes, Zona da Mata, Vale do Rio Doce, Vale do Jequitinhonha, North, Triângulo Mineiro regions and Alto Paranaíba.

Each of the participating properties planted 1600 seedlings of the 16 cultivars selected to be evaluated. "We chose cultivars from the EPAMIG Genetic Improvement Program that stood out in projects in the Cerrado Mineiro and Southern Minas and promising materials developed by the Institute of Rural Development (IDR) of Paraná, the Procafé Foundation and the Agronomic Institute of Campinas ( IAC). In addition to the cultivar Catuaí Amarelo IAC 62, which will serve as a reference for the State", highlights Gladyston.

Participation of producers and counterparts

The producers who received the demonstration units were committed to making the area a showcase for disseminating experiences to nearby coffee growers. The model, already tested in the Cerrado Mineiro regions, in partnership with the Federation of Coffee Growers, and in the South of Minas, in partnership with Cooxupé, foresees that the property owner is responsible for the cost of the crop, from cultivation to sample preparation for sensory evaluation. In return, they receive technological support from partner institutions.

Agricultural engineer and coffee grower Sérgio Meirelles Filho says that since 2009 he has opened the property, in the Chapada de Minas region, for experiments in partnership with EPAMIG. “I have been in the activity for 40 years and have always valued this interaction with the technical area, especially for our region, which does not have reference work and is often based on experiences in the Manhuaçu area, which has similar aspects, but does not have the same characteristics as our area”, he states.

Meirelles informs that his property is already a reference for neighboring coffee growers. “We hold field days and always share official data collected by EPAMIG and other partners. In the first joint work with EPAMIG, in 2009, we carried out tests that contributed to the validation of the MGS Arañas cultivar.” With the new experimental unit, the producer, who focuses on the production of special drinks, intends to identify cultivars that are best adapted to irrigated areas. “I am starting this irrigation project and as the partnership proposes that we use our management standards and cultural treatments, I will have the opportunity to evaluate which is the best variety for irrigated areas”.

At Fazenda Agrofelício, in the municipality of Felício dos Santos, the objective is to select cultivars for crop renewal. “We are always open to carrying out tests, we have two other experimental areas, in addition to this project. We do not have the possibility of expanding the cultivation area, but we intend to invest in the renewal of the crop and we seek to identify, within our cultivation and management conditions, which cultivars are most productive and best adapted to our climate and soil characteristics”, ponders the manager , Raphael Marques da Silveira.

The definition of a terroir and the search for a higher quality drink were the factors that motivated Fazenda Ecoagrícola to join the project. The property, in the municipality of Francisco Dumont (MG), has an area of ​​2100 hectares and has been dedicated to coffee growing for 46 years. “Our interest is to map the best of these varieties in terms of quality and productivity, with a view to identifying the terroir of our region”, explains the agronomist and agricultural manager of the group, Heleno Xavier.

Impressions and perspectives

Even though they have not reached productive age, some plants are already standing out in terms of growth and vigor. “In this third tour, we have already visited properties in the North of Minas and in Vale do Jequitinhonha, in Campo das Vertentes, in the South of Minas and in Cerrado Mineiro and we have come across beautiful areas, each with its own characteristics, which are developing well, some with a certain precocity”, assesses researcher Gladyston Carvalho.

“We have two varieties in the field that stood out in terms of growth compared to the others. It is still early to set a productivity projection, but we have good expectations”, says Heleno Xavier from Grupo Ecoagrícola.

Raphael Marques, manager of Fazenda Agrofelício, says that the prospects are for a good harvest in the 2024 harvest. “We project that in the first production some small crops will surprise. We didn't do anything outside of the usual practices and we had a combination of positive factors, such as the quality of the seedlings and rain at the right time. And what we have noticed is the best planting ever on the property, with a prospect of precocity not seen before.”

Sérgio Meirelles Filho also expects a promising first harvest. “The expectation is for a considerable harvest next year, with the possibility of presenting the first results.”