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Yield performance of Coffea arabica cultivars under different shade trees at Jimma Research Center , southwest Ethiopia

Coffea arabica is originated in the montane rainforests of southwest Ethiopia and thus it is a shade-loving plant, but thrives best in moderate shading. The original forest habitat is being disturbed largely due to deforestation practice in parallel with an increasing population pressure. Therefore there is an urgent need to identify prominent coffee shade trees and this study was conducted with the primary objective to evaluate the yield response of known Coffea arabica cultivars sub-planted under different shade trees at the Jimma Research Center, southwest Ethiopia. Shade tree arboreta consisting of eight coffee shade trees were established to sub-plant with coffee berry disease resistant Coffea arabica cultivars in split-plot design with three replications. The shade trees and coffee cultivars were assigned as main and sub-plot factor, respectively. All the routine cultural practices were uniformly applied to the experimental field throughout the study period. All agronomic variables were considered at the different growth stages of coffee trees, though yield response is focused in this paper. The findings depict that the highest and most stable coffee yield performances were obtained under Albizia schimperiana, Acacia abyssinica and Cordia africana. This could be attributed to the contributions of such leguminous trees to enrich soil fertility status and provide moderate light intensity through their feathery leaves. The slight yield differences among the Coffea arabica cultivars can also provide information the genetic diversity among the immense germplasms in the country. The absence of significant interaction effects between shade and coffee cultivars throughout the study period could reflect the adaptation of Coffea arabica to a more heterogeneous shade environment in its natural habitat. Generally, it can be concluded that the aforementioned leguminous trees are among the prominent coffee shade trees that can be advocated for sustainable production of high quality organic coffee in the southwest Ethiopia.