In the previous article, you already know how to breed Robusta and Arabica coffee by generative propagation, right? In addition, there are also seeding methods that are no less interesting to know, namely vegetative.
Well to complete your knowledge about the world of coffee, this time we will also explain how to seed Robusta coffee vegetatively. This method is considered to be able to guarantee the purity of coffee, especially for Robusta Coffee, are you curious about how? Check out the following explanation!
How to breed Robusta coffee vegetatively with its various advantages
Coffea sp or coffee plants are one of the main commodities in Indonesian plantations with production demand always increasing every year. With this, easy and affordable coffee plant propagation or seedlings are chosen by many farmers.
Although generative techniques are widely used, vegetative or clonal ones have the same existence. Especially for Robusta coffee, many farmers use this method for breeding, because Robusta coffee is not recommended to use generative techniques to avoid the formation of new populations.
Vegetative propagation itself is a method of producing planting material using parts of the plant instead of seeds, which consists of several methods. These include grafting, grafts, joints, tissue culture, and cuttings.
However, one of the most popular and widely used methods by farmers today is the vegetative technique by cuttings. Cuttings are plant propagation by growing parts of plants such as roots, stems, and shoots into new plants.
There are various advantages to vegetative propagation by cuttings, including:
- It bears fruit faster.
- Having the same hereditary traits as the parent so that the superiority of the parent traits can be maintained.
- Utilize the two superior traits of the rootstock and scion.
- Has an earlier age of precocity (start of fruiting).
Clonal propagation of coffee using this method only utilizes one of the superior traits of the source plant material.
Read also: Here’s How to Generatively Seed Coffee in Polybags
Procedure for vegetative propagation of Robusta coffee
You need to know that vegetative seeding can only be done if seed breeding does not produce plants that match the parent plant. Especially for species like Coffea canephora or Robusta coffee.
This method also applies to crosses and hybrids such as the cross between Arabica coffee and Robusta coffee called Arabusta. Now, vegetatively developed plants must bear a resemblance to their parents, which means they reproduce according to their type.
This vegetative seeding plays an important role in coffee selection. It is possible to produce durable varieties and high-yielding coffee.
However, it is also important to understand all the technicalities of using this vegetative propagation as an option for coffee propagation. One of them is by using the cuttings technique which is quite effective and is widely used.
If you currently want to try planting your own Robusta coffee or just want to know the coffee seedling technique in this way, let’s take a peek at the following procedure!
Selection of coffee parents
The first thing to do as a Robusta coffee seedling method is to choose plant material as the parent of the coffee tree to be developed. Unlike Arabica coffee, Robusta coffee usually uses clones.
Some recommended clones are BP 308, BP 42, BP 534, and the like. These clones can be obtained from trusted seedling shops or research centers. Robusta coffee is cross-pollinated, so the recommended cultivation technique is a polyclonal system, such as these vegetative cuttings.
Prepare tools and materials
Materials that need to be prepared for grafting are a thin and sharp knife, leaf scissors, root stimulant, and growing medium. For root stimulants, these can be purchased at farm shops in liquid or powder form.
The type that is often used is Rooton F or hormone for root growth. You need to know, besides using factory medicine, you can also use cow urine.
In addition, prepare a growing medium to grow the roots of the stem that will be cut. The growing medium itself must have good drainage and be able to grip the stem firmly.
As has been slightly explained, this is a coffee propagation process to grow coffee roots using growing media and the environment. Well, the media used consists of a mixture of sand, humus or manure in a ratio of 3:1. The next process is to make a bed with this growing medium approximately fifteen centimeters high.
After that, the beds will be covered with a clear plastic lid. The hood itself is about 60 centimeters high. The hood should be able to be opened and closed for easy inspection, with the bed positioned under a shade tree.
Coffee tree grafting process
A highly recommended effective time to carry out this process is at the end of the rainy season. Precisely at the end of April – May, or until the end of June.
Farmers should choose branches that are 3 – 6 months old, fairly young but already brown. Then a cut will be made at the segment 2 – 4 of the shoot, and this cut is done obliquely so that the tip of the cuttings is tapered.
For cuttings about ten centimeters long, half of the leaves are cut off to reduce evaporation. To prevent drying out, the cut branches must be kept dry by placing them in a wet sack.
When the twig has been cut, the base of the cutting is dipped in root stimulating liquid. If the hormone is made in a glass factory, the rules of use for those who use cow urine must dilute one hundred milliliters of urine with one liter of water.
Then, the cutting material will be dipped for 10 – 15 seconds before being plugged into the growing medium. If so, the coffee tree cuttings will be planted on a bed with growing media that is 15 x 15 centimeters.
Well, the cuttings process is complete. However, the beds must be regularly watered using a watering can (plant sprinkler) once or twice a day by opening and closing the lid, and this must be done carefully so as not to damage the plants.
After three months in the growing medium, the cuttings usually start to root and by the fourth month, the coffee cuttings are ready to be transplanted into polybags.
Coffee tree nursery
If the cuttings process is complete, the next stage is seedling. In this case, farmers will prepare a place that has been shaded for coffee tree nurseries to avoid the sun’s heat and direct rain.
The shade can use shingle leaves or paranet. After that, a planting medium will be prepared consisting of a soil mixture with a composition of 2:1.
Coffee plant cuttings from the previous bed were transferred to the polybags. If so, the polybags are placed in rows with a width of one meter to facilitate maintenance.
Care
The maintenance required for Robusta coffee tree seedlings is watering and fertilizing. The watering process should be done 1 – 2 times a day or it can also be adjusted according to soil moisture.
Self-fertilization can be done by sprinkling a mixture of cow dung, water, and urea with a composition ratio of 10:10:1. Meanwhile, the watering dose for each coffee tree seedling is approximately one coconut shell per week. Well, this coffee tree seedling can be moved to the planting area when it is 8-9 months old.
For information, Robusta Coffee plant cuttings can grow very well if the environmental conditions where the cuttings are rooted have high air humidity (90 percent). However, the air temperature must also be maintained, not too high (26 – 30 degrees Celsius).
That’s the explanation about how to breed Robusta coffee using the vegetative method that you need to know. By understanding this, you as a coffee lover will certainly be more amazed at how unique and diverse coffee nurseries can produce the best coffee beans that produce unique flavors for the cup of coffee you enjoy.
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