Of the two predominantly cultivated coffee varieties in Coorg, Arabica is the quick growing and quick return type. Planted in higher elevations as compared to Robusta, it is finding less favour as a pure crop on account of being more expensive to cultivate.

Within Arabica, several selections are available to the farmer and the choice is made depending on elevation, shade, rainfall and soil patterns. The Coffee Board through its research organizations and dedicated scientists continuously endeavours to develop the most promising selection to enable the farmer to realize maximum return for his efforts.

Arabica Fruit Four Months Prior to Harvest

The Coffee Board nurseries develop and supply certain quantities of the promising selections to the farmers interested in cultivating the same. Commercial nurseries developed by private entrepreneurs dot the length and breadth of Coorg, and are capable of meeting the demand not met by the Coffee Board.

Arabicas by their nature start to yield early. Seeking less space to grow into full maturity than Robustas, they are extensively interplanted with Robusta on coffee farms and contribute to the farmer’s kitty in a relatively lower gestation period.
Greatly beneficial to small farmers, they are able to achieve added income by being able to cultivate this variety in the spaces provided within the more demanding Robusta plants. Also planted along farm roads, paths, and marginal areas, they adapt and add value easily.

Harvested earlier than all other crops including paddy, pepper and robusta coffee, they provide the farmer with the welcome early liquidity beginning from November each year.

When being planted as an inter-crop with robusta, the cost of cultivation of Arabica reduces dramatically. With just a small amount of fertilizers, it responds magnificently.

Arabicas Interplanted with Other Crops on a Small Farm

As a pure plantation, Arabicas are a glorious challenge to the knowledgeable farmer. Truly beautiful to the eye, an Arabica plantation can be a sight to behold. The Northern parts of Coorg continue to have their dedicated Arabica farmers, especially the more seasoned ones who can take a whole to day to explain its virtues and still not be done.

The retail trade offers greater value per unit for Arabica coffee vis-à-vis Robusta, and hence farmers big and small truly benefit from the glorious Arabica coffee.

Mr. Achayya Mukattira

Mr. Achayya Mukattira is a planter engaged in Corporate farming in South India for about a decade. He has worked with crops such as Tea, Coffee, Pepper, and Cardamom and possesses sound knowledge regarding landscaping and ornamental plant culture. He has been a farmer since 1996, tending a small ancestral coffee plantation in a village called Arapattu, in South Kodagu. He spends a major portion of his time on his farm and feels ‘one’ with nature during these occasions.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 16th, 2011 at 3:49 PM and is filed under Farming, Flora, Plantation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.