PRUNING HEIGHTS AND FERTILIZATION IN RENEWAL OF COFFEE (Coffea arabica L) ORCHARDS IN THE CENTRAL HIGHLAND TROPIC OF PERU

Abstract

To determine the effect of pruning and fertilization in renewal of Coffea arabica L., a study was conducted from 2011 to 2013. Three cutting heights (30, 60 and 90 cm) and two levels of fertilization (with and without fertilization) were evaluated on three orchard ages (6, 8 and 10 years). Treatments were arranged in a randomized complete block design in a factorial arrangement with four replicates. A highly significant difference was found among pruning heights and also among orchard ages in all variables except yield. With regard to pruning height, plants that were pruned at 60 cm in height showed greater number of shoots, having a good size, higher number of branches and productive nodes. They also showed greater number of flowers. Fertilized plots had higher vegetative growth, higher flowering capacity and greater yield as compared to plots without fertilization. High-er number of shoots, longer shoots, and higher number of productive branches were found in plants from six years old orchards. However, plants from eight years old orchards produced the greatest number of productive nodes y flowers. It is concluded that orchard age, cutting height and fertilization all influence renewal pruning since they have an effect on each evaluated variable. Higher yield was obtained on fertilized plots, while orchard ages and cutting heights gave similar yields.