Effect of zinc and its form of supply on production and quality of coffee beans

BACKGROUND: In Brazil, the usual forms of zinc (Zn) supply to coffee plants have limitations that compromise the element availability to the plant. This study proposes to test an alternative approach to supplying the nutrient to Coffea arabica L. using trunk implanted zinc tablets. Additionally, the effect of Zn on the production and quality of coffee beans was also evaluated. RESULTS: The highest total coffee bean production was recorded in plants implanted with Zn tablets (TA), while the lowest was recorded in the control treatment, without zinc supply (WZn), reaching a bianual production of 188.2 and 130.1 60-kg bags of processed beans per hectare, respectively. In the treatments where Zn were applied as tablet implantation or as foliage spraying (SZn); the bean size was larger, while the grain electrical conductivity and potassium leaching were lower compared with WZn. CONCLUSION: Zn supply via tablet implantation into tree trunks provides yield and quality similar to those obtained by foliage spraying. Independent of the form of supply, Zn positively influences the production and quality of coffee beans. (C) 2011 Society of Chemical Industry