Study highlights potential adaptation of conilon coffee to climate change

An international study led by the Capixaba Institute of Research, Technical Assistance and Rural Extension (Incaper) suggests that conilon coffee (Coffea canephora) can be “climate intelligent”, that is: capable of adapting to the effects of climate change, maintaining good performance in productivity and beverage quality.

This conclusion is based on experimental data collected over five years in research coordinated by Incaper, in partnership with the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa Café) and in collaboration with the University of Florida.

The researchers evaluated characteristics and behaviors of conilon plants in three locations with high altitudes and cold climates in Espírito Santo, a state where the species is predominantly cultivated in hot, low-altitude environments.

The trials were carried out between 2017 and 2022, at altitudes of 620 to 720 meters, in the municipalities of Venda Nova do Imigrante (on the Incaper Experimental Farm), Iúna and Santa Teresa, regions that historically produce Arabica coffee, a species most adapted to the characteristics of these locations.

“Even under these alternative climatic and environmental conditions, evaluated conilon cultivars demonstrate plasticity, which is the ability to adapt to different environments, a fact that can help mitigate the harmful effect of climate change”, explains Elaine Riva, one of the researchers at Incaper who worked on the study.

Still according to the researcher, the joint results showed that the genetic materials stood out with high average productivity (60 bags per hectare) and beverage quality, validated in sensory analyzes carried out at the Specialty Coffee Center of Espírito Santo (Cecafes/Incaper) and at the Coffee Analysis and Research Laboratory of the Federal Institute of Espírito Santo (Ifes) – Venda Nova do Imigrante Campus.

At the University of Florida, the studies are in collaboration with Brazilian researcher Luis Felipe Ferrão, who believes that the research can contribute to pointing out ways for the sustainability of the coffee chain in the face of the challenges posed by projected climate changes. He emphasizes that it is necessary to develop more climate-resistant cultivars, adapted to new growing conditions, that can meet the demand for tolerance and quality.

“Around 60% of the coffee beans sold in the world are Arabica coffee, which is a more delicate crop. In this context, the coffee industry is looking for alternatives, and conilon coffee appears as an option to meet the global demand for production and consumption, which is growing”, says Ferrão.

“Conilon is flexible, has a great diversity and, therefore, different plants can be selected, according to climatic conditions. Therefore, we use the expression climatically intelligent”, adds the researcher. Results of the research were published in an article published by the researchers, this month, in the international journal Crop Science, one of the most important agricultural science magazines in the world, edited by the Crop Science Society of America.

The research was financed with resources from the Café Research Consortium. In Iúna and Santa Teresa, the experiments were conducted with the collaboration of rural producers, on the properties of Paulo Márcio Reis Fernandes and Luiz Carlos Gomes, respectively.