Physical-Chemical Characteristics of Three Soils and Their Effects on the Growth and Nutritional Status of Coffee Trees

Aims: The conversion of fallow land for the establishment of new orchards is now an alternative to Ivorian coffee growing, which has long been based on the extensive and shifting cultivation system favoured in the past by the abundance of forest reserves.

Study Design: Thus, three fallow soils under coffee trees were studied from a physical-chemical point of view in order to determine their potential for the productivity of new coffee varieties (Coffea canephora Pierre, var. Robusta).

Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted on the National Centre of Agriculture Research (CNRA) research station at Abengourou, Divo and Man for six months, between June and November.

Methodology: Soil samples and coffee leaves were collected and analyzed in the laboratory according to standard methods to determine their chemical status. Plant growth (height, crown diameter, number of orthotropic, number and length of plagiotropic internodes) was studied in relation to the physical-chemical characteristics of the soil.

Results: The chemical potential of the soils was found to be low overall. Soil deficiency was characterized by low base saturation (less than 30%), organic matter, nitrogen and cation imbalance, as regard as potassium (K), calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg). Growth parameters of the coffee trees and their nutritional status were correlated with the physicochemical properties of the soil.

Conclusion: In view of these results, sustainable coffee production requires an improvement in the level of soil fertility under coffee trees.