Weed flora and weed control practices in coffee
In Ethiopia, Arabica coffee (Coffea arabica) grows at various altitudes, ranging from 550-2750 m asl and under four production systems namely, forest, semi-forest, garden and plantation, accounting for 10, 34, 35 and 21 percent of the total volume produced, respectively. The coffee growing areas characterized with high rainfall and suitable temperatures and edaphic condition encourage the growth of diverse weed species ranging from abundant seed producing annuals, to hard-to-control rhizomatous and stoloniferous perennial grasses and sedges. As a result, coffee yield and quality is seriously reduced and weed control is one of the major cultural operations which entails high cost. Coffee can seriously suffer from weed competition and results obtained from loss assessment studies have revealed that yield loss can reach as high as 65 percent depending on the type and frequency of weeding operations. According to surveys made hitherto, a total of over 52 weed species from 8 families were identified. In spite of the divergent ecologies and production systems under which coffee is growing, weed control practices are more or less the same in all coffee growing areas and include manual slashing and digging, mulching, shading, cover cropping using leguminous crops and application of synthetic herbicides in coffee production. The advantages of coffee byproducts such as coffee husk as mulch for weed control is now well recognized at the research level. Integrated weed management is however, the most appreciated and recommended practice for controlling weeds in coffee, because it is environmentally sound, economically viable and socially acceptable practice for sustainable coffee production.
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| Format: | biblioteca |
| Published: |
Trieste (Italia) ASIC
2001
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| Subjects: | CONTROL DE MALEZAS, COFFEA ARABICA, CONTROL QUIMICO, PLANTAS DE COBERTURA, COMPETICION VEGETAL, CONTROL CULTURAL, HERBICIDAS, CONTROL INTEGRADO, CUBRIMIENTO DEL SUELO, SOMBRA, UMBRIA, DESBROCE, ESCARDA, MALEZAS, ETIOPIA, |
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