Chapter 1

Coffee plant & site selection

History of coffee in Myanmar

Missionaries initiated coffee growing in Myanmar in 1885, as reported by the Agriculture Burma Office in 1940. Initially, in Mergui (Myeik) and Tavoy (Dawe), two coffee experiment farms were established by the Department of Forestry, but these were terminated within a few years. Kayin State (Nancho area) also established coffee farms at the same time. Separately, Karen tribesmen developed and produced Robusta coffee, which still continues to the present day.

Roman Catholic missionaries introduced Arabica coffee in 1930 to Southern Shan State, Northern Shan State and in Pyin Oo Lwin (Maymyo). All of these areas still produce Arabica coffee today. From 1930 to 1934 a large, 120-acre, Arabica coffee plantation called 'Chaungwe,' was established at Naung Cho Township of Northern Shan State, and is still producing commercial coffee to this day. By 1935/36, the total Myanmar coffee production was 268 tons with imports of 175 tons. Roasted ground coffee production was 108 tons.

From 1932 to 1936, Myanmar exported a total of 95 tons of coffee; 60% was exported to the Madras Presidency in India, 31% to other parts of India, about 7% to the UK and the rest to other countries. In 1952, the same Chaungwe group established 60 acres of Arabica coffee (mainly the S 795 variety), near Pyin Oo Lwin in Mandalay Division. These plantings remain until the present day.

From 1968 to 1994, Industry Ministry 1 managed the coffee state farms, largely the Chaungwe, Pyin Oo Lwin, Pwe Daung and Banbwe farms, which were taken from the private sector. In 1971 the total coffee area was 6379 acres and production was 859 MT. In December 1994 the state coffee industry was handed over to Myanmar Farm Enterprises (MFE), where it remains to the present day.

In 1987, the United Nations Drug Abuse Control Programme (UNDCP) supported a coffee project as a drug replacement programme, in Southern and Northern Shan States. While the programme was largely unsuccessful, many households still have 10 to 20 coffee trees surviving today. Again, most are of the S 795 variety. Good quality coffee is still sourced from these households today, but yields are low and many coffee bushes suffer from coffee leaf rust and are not well cared for.

In the late 1980s, the Government of Myanmar (GOM) commenced a major nation-wide coffee planting programme. New varieties were introduced from Costa Rica, with three tons of Catimor and Catuai seed imported in 1986. GOM increased this expansion of Arabica coffee plantings by tripling annual targets to facilitate the eradication of opium poppy growing. There was a three-phase campaign - first phase 1975 to 1981, the second 1981 to 1986, and the third 1986 to 1991. By 1984/85 the coffee growing area was about 10,000 acres with 86% consumed domestically and the balance exported. During 1977 to 1985, the average annual production was 1146 MT. By 1986, production had risen to 1417 MT from 10,100 acres.

The production area in 2003/4 totalled 35,485 acres. Many coffee plantings were still young as coffee was promoted by GOM in the past five years. In 2003/4. Actual production was 3380 MT from 15,351 acres.

Northern Myanmar (Shan States, Mandalay Division, Chin State, Kachin State, Kayin State, Bogo Division, Rakhine State, Mon State) have the potential to produce large amounts of high quality Arabica coffee by virtue of their good quality, red soil plateaus and other suitable soils, at elevations above 3300 ft (1000 m), with well distributed rainfall of 59 to 79 inches (1500 to 2500 mm) and a distinctive, essential dry season. Areas with these requirements are found at approximately latitude 20° to 24°N. For farmers in remote areas, coffee is an ideal crop which, when well-cared for, produces a good income, and because the coffee is largely nonperishable and robust, it transports easily without damage.

Coffee may also be planted on sloping lands with terraces or grass strips and contour planting. When grown under shade it is sustainable over long periods even with low inputs. Some of the earliest plantings of S 795 variety in Myanmar grown under Grevillea robusta shade trees, are still capable of producing reasonable yields with low inputs after 75 years.

In 2004, the GOM Heads of State laid down a strategy to extend cultivated areas of Arabica coffee up to 100,000 acres. Suitable areas of 50,000 acres in Mandalay Division (around Pyin Oo Lwin) and Northern Shan State (around Naungcho) were selected. The projections were for 20,000 acres to be planted in 2004/05, 40,000 acres in 2005/06 and 40,000 acres in 2006/07. At the end of 2004/05, the total planting of coffee was 35,485 acres and the plan was revised in 2005 (see the table on page 80). Besides the planned areas for Northern Shan and Mandalay Division, four large private companies plan to extend coffee planting over 30,000 acres in Southern Shan State (Yaksauk and Indaw/Kyakgu areas).

To support these privatisation expansions, largely by smallholders and larger investors, GOM via MFE offer the following:

• Land settlement concessions over 25 year leases at US$18/acre.

• Technical support information via extension and support from the newly upgraded Coffee Research Information Extension and Training Centre (CRIETC), established near Pyin Oo Lwin with FAO help via a Technical Cooperation Project TCP/MYA/2903 over the period 2003 to 2005.

• Coffee and shade tree seedlings.

• Loans to assist farm establishment.

• Assistance with land preparation/clearing and water supply.

• Assistance with fertilisers and fuel via subsidy.

Upgrading. FAO has assisted CRIETC with upgrading the centre

Some of the larger areas planted in the last three to four years did not follow MFE advice, and have failed because low inputs were used, poor quality Catimor varieties from China and elsewhere were planted and no established shade was provided. All coffee should be planted under shade with only the recommended varieties for given locations.

Myanmar is now at a cross-roads in the coffee expansion programme. However, with the recent, very significant injection of better production technologies, varieties and new processing methods well supported by research, information extension and training from CRIETC and vastly improved world coffee prices, Myanmar is well placed to capitalise on the production of high quality Arabicas for the world market. Recent support from FAO to CRIETC and assistance with marketing, a strategic vision for the industry, and steps to create a Myanmar Coffee Association and coffee quality standards for export, will help ensure success.

Updated real costings for establishment of new coffee plantings and cash flows as the crop grows are provided in this manual (see Chapter 12) to assist the development process by providing potential planters with good data on which to base business plans for investment. Data will be out of date after two to three years, but will provide a basis for re-calculations as a future guide for costings, cash flows and calculating rates of return on investment.

Factors affecting yield and quality

There are three factors which impact on coffee yield and quality.

• Genetics (genotype-species and varieties to plant)
• Environment (site selection)

• The coffee plant and its management

Genetics (Genotype)

There are two main species of commercial coffee - Coffea arabica and Coffea canephora (robusta) and two minor species - Coffea liberica and Coffea excelsa.

Arabica is a higher quality and higher value coffee normally grown in cooler, elevated areas of the tropics and sub-tropics at 3300 feet (1000 m) or more above sea level. Arabica is used in the roast and ground coffee market and is added to blends of Robusta to improve quality of instant coffee. Brazil and Columbia are the major producing countries.

Robusta is lower quality and prices are normally about 30 to 40% less than Arabica. Robusta is normally grown in warmer areas at lower elevations, up to approximately 3300 feet (1000 m). Robusta is used mainly in instant coffee. Vietnam, Brazil and Indonesia are the largest Robusta producing countries. Compared with Arabica, Robusta is generally more vigorous, more productive and considered resistant/tolerant to leaf rust.

Liberica and Excelsa are grown mainly in low, hot climate areas. Quality is poor and markets are limited. These coffees are of local importance in a few countries and not of commercial significance in the international coffee market.

For Arabica, the improvement of genotype is achieved by proper choice of variety (cultivar). The variety of choice should ideally have the following characteristics:

• dwarfish or compact growth;
• high yield;
• leaf rust resistance;

• outstanding cup quality.

Varieties to plant

Coffee is a long-term crop with a lifespan of more than 10 years, and very much longer under good management, thus the choice of variety (cultivar) is very important. As quality of the coffee bean is important, choose only varieties that are recommended for your area. These will be the best yielding, best quality varieties that will grow productively in the local soils and climate.

For Northern Shan State, Southern Shan State and Mandalay division, the recommended Arabica varieties are:

• High elevation: above 3300 feet (1000 m) S 795 and Catimor

• Low elevation: 2600 to 3300 feet (800 to 1000 m) Catimor

There are a number of Catimor varieties in Myanmar, however many are not true Catimors and should not be planted. The preferred Catimor selections at present are:

• Costa Rica (T 5175 and T 8667 lines) and

• H 528 (red line, not the yellow line)

Excelsia

Coffea congensis

Caturra red

Other varieties are being tested by CRIETC at Pyin Oo Lwin and Banbwe. CRIETC will advise in the future which are suitable for planting after trials and cupping tests are completed. Varieties introduced and being held at CRIETC include:

Typica

Variety descriptions

Variety collections. CRIETC (above and right)

Both the government and private sectors have encouraged the planting of Catimor due to potentially high yield and rust resistance. There are already a number of Catimor 'selections' (Costa Rica, Vietnam, Yunnan, 7963 and Laos) planted in Myanmar. The true identity of some existing Catimors is in doubt. True Catimors do not show coffee rust, however, the Yunnan Catimor in particular, does have rust.

A disadvantage is small bean size and poorer cupping quality of the initial Catimors and the tendency of the plant to overproduce and thus suffer severe dieback and death.

In recent years a number of countries have begun breeding programmes to back-cross Catimor to pure Arabica lines to improve cupping quality and plant growth. Not all Catimors have the same cupping quality and work is currently underway to determine the most suitable varieties for Myanmar. Catimors currently being evaluated at CRIETC include the following:

Environment (site selection)

To grow and produce good quality coffee several important environmental factors need to be taken into account. These include elevation and temperature, rainfall and water supply, soil, aspect and slope.

Elevation

Elevation influences a number of these factors and must be considered along with temperature, rainfall and water supply, soil, slope and aspect when determining where to plant coffee.

An elevation greater than 3300 feet (1000 m) above sea level is required for Arabica coffee. Low elevation Arabica coffee does not possess the quality required by the world markets. In Myanmar, based on cup tests, areas above 3300 feet should be selected at the present time when there is plenty of good land available. For premium coffee, areas above 4265 ft (1300 m) clearly produce superior quality coffee.

High elevation improves the quality of the bean and potential cupping quality. Due to a delay in ripening brought about by cooler weather associated with higher altitudes, the inherent characteristics of acidity, aroma and bold bean can develop fully. Bold bean is classified as being between large and medium sized bean, with its width/length ratio bigger than that of a large bean.

Temperature

Arabica coffee prefers a cool temperature with an optimum daily temperature of 68° to 75°F (20° to 24°C). The average mean temperatures for Pyin Oo Lwin and Banbwe in Myanmar (Figure 1) are:

Temperatures greater than 86°F (30°C) cause plant stress leading to a cessation of photosynthesis. Mean temperatures of less than 59°F (15°C), limit plant growth and are considered suboptimal. As Arabica coffee is susceptible to frost damage, use of shade trees will reduce the incidence.

Rainfall and water supply

Ideal rainfall for Arabica coffee is greater than 47 to 60 inches (1200 to 1500 mm) per year. Both the total amount and the distribution pattern are important. Annual rainfall at Pyin Oo Lwin and Banbwe (Figure 2) is:

There is limited information for rainfall figures over a number of years and perhaps rainfall is lower than this over a longer period. Rain should be uniformly distributed over seven to nine months of the year. The period of good rainfall is only about six months in Pyin Oo Lwin and Banbwe with sizeable differences between years. Both areas would benefit from supplemental irrigation to correct this deficiency. The years 2001 to 2003 have had good rainfall compared to earlier years.

Figure 1. Mean monthly temperatures in Pyin Oo Lwin and Banbwe

Figure 2. Mean monthly rainfall in Pyin Oo Lwin and Banbwe

Coffee needs a dry stress period with little or no rain to induce a uniform flowering. Without this stress period, flowering many extend over many months making harvesting more difficult. Myanmar coffee areas clearly have a cool, dry stress period.

Soil type

For successful production, a free draining soil with a minimum depth of 3 feet (1 m) is required. Coffee will not tolerate waterlogging or 'wet feet'.

Coffee can be grown on many different soil types, but the ideal is a fertile, volcanic red earth or deep, sandy loam. Avoid heavy clay or poor-draining soils. Many soils in Northern Shan, Southern Shan, Mandalay Division, Chin and Kachin are suitable.

Coffee prefers a soil with pH of 5 to 6. Soils checked near Pyin Oo Lwin are acid (less than pH 5) and need lime or dolomite. Few soil test results exist, but indicator plants point to a pH less than 5 with low available phosphorus and thus shortages of many other nutrients. Low pH will limit crop performance (see Figure 3). Good management includes applications of dolomite or lime which can alter and improve soil pH and fertility. Most soil types need extra applications of major and minor elements at some stage through the growth cycle; these elements can be found in natural manures and compost or fertiliser.

Figure 3. Effect of soil pH on nutrient availability

Slope and aspect (slope % and direction)

An easterly or southern facing aspect with a slope less than 15% is preferable. Steeper slopes present a major erosion risk and require terracing or special management such as contour furrows or preferably grass strips. Most locations on the Myanmar plateaus have a gentle slope and no extra measures are required.

A slight slope will improve air drainage and reduce damage from frost. Do not plant coffee at the bottom of a slope or in shallow dips where cold air can pool, as frost damage is more likely here. Usually it is best not to plant the bottom third of a slope as it will be colder and sometimes waterlogged.

Exposed aspects subject to strong winds should be avoided, or windbreaks such as Silver Oak (Grevillea robusta) well-established before planting the coffee trees.

Water supply

Coffee requires adequate water during the growing and cropping period, however it also requires a dry stress period followed by sufficient rain or irrigation to promote uniform flowering and a good fruit set.

Many plantings suffer from moisture stress at the time of year when they need adequate water for growth and cropping (see the phenological cycle page 90). The local rainfall pattern indicates that supplemental irrigation, especially to induce uniform flowering and good fruit set, would be beneficial. Unless regular rain is received, young newly planted trees should be irrigated (or hand watered at least twice a week if irrigation is not available) to ensure establishment. Locating coffee plantings near a water supply for possible irrigation as well as for processing of cherry is desirable.

Water requirements can be reduced by use of suitable, well-established shade trees and mulch. These practices are discussed in later chapters.

The coffee plant and its management

An understanding of the coffee plant, its make up and how it grows is essential to understanding how to manage the coffee tree. Management, like the growing environment and the variety planted, has a very big influence on coffee quality and yield. Much of this manual deals with practical management of the coffee tree from planting to harvest.

Figure 4. Diagrams showing parts of the coffee plant (top) and tree habit (bottom)

The shape of the coffee plant varies depending on the species and variety. All coffee trees consist of an upright main shoot (trunk) with primary, secondary and tertiary lateral branches. The plant has a main taproot, lateral and small feeder roots (see Figure 4). The coffee tree produces two distinct types of branches:

• Vertical or orthotropic branches have nodes at a regular distance and carry opposite leaves. These branches are called suckers at the developing stage and stems at the final stage. Each leaf pair is crosspositioned to the next leaf pair. In the axil of each leaf are four to six serial buds and directly above them, one slightly bigger bud called 'extra-axillary bud' because of its relatively distant position. This extra-axillary bud develops into a plagiotropic or lateral, horizontal branch.

• Lateral or plagiotropic branches grow almost at right angles from the main stems. No other bud in the same axil can grow into a lateral branch, which means that if such a branch is cut off, no lateral regeneration can occur on the node of a main vertical stem. Laterals are usually called primaries. Each serial bud on a primary can develop into an inflorescence (flower) or into a secondary branch, which has a similar structure to the primary branch with serial buds that develop either into flowers or tertiary branches. If a secondary branch is cut or removed, another secondary on the same axil can replace it, so regeneration of secondaries on primaries is possible.

Each branch has a terminal bud. In the nodes are a fixed number of buds that have the potential to form 40 fruits depending mainly on the species and nutritional conditions. At each leaf node there are 5 buds each with 4 flowers, which may form 20 fruits (Figure 5).

Figure 5. Potential of yields (left and diagram above)

The white flowers appear in small bunches at the nodes. After pollination, a fruit develops into a cherry about 3/8 to 5/8 inch (10 to 15 mm) long containing two seeds (the coffee beans). Technically, the flowers form on the one-year-old wood that is only slightly hardened. The fruits comprise pulp (coloured skin and a fleshy mesocarp called mucilage), then parchment, then the silverskin (seed coat) and finally the coffee bean (Figure 6).

Figure 6. Coffee cherries from green to ripe (above) and diagram showing parts of the cherry (right)

The root system

Figure 7. Root system

The role of the root system is to ensure that the plant is firmly anchored in the soil and to take up a supply of water and minerals. The root system (Figure 7) consists of:

• a short taproot 16 to 23 inches (40 to 60 cm) long;

• vertical, coaxial roots which are often very long (particularly in light soils) lateral roots with numerous absorbing root hairs, particularly in the upper 12 inch (30 cm) humus-bearing layer.

It is necessary to stress the importance of growing techniques (pricking-out in nurseries, weeding, mulching, irrigation and planting layouts) on the distribution and function of the roots. The first three years are critical for the root system development and it is vital that plants are well supplied with nitrogen, phosphorous, calcium, magnesium and sulphur.

Phenology (Crop cycle)

The phenology of the coffee plant refers to the physical and physiological developmental stages of the coffee plant throughout the year. Phenology is often referred to as the crop cycle or the phenological cycle of the plant.

Coffee like all plants, responds to the changing environment (temperature, rainfall, drought, day length) in which it grows, as influenced by the seasons. As the seasons change, the coffee tree changes from vegetative - root and shoot growth, to reproductive growth - where it flowers, sets and matures fruit to harvest then begins re-growth for the next cycle.

The phenological cycle and field management charts have excellent indicators of when to fertilise, irrigate, withhold water, prune, take leaf and soil analyses, check for pests and diseases and apply controls. Timing is very important for these practices to optimise production of the coffee tree.