Water Management & Coffee Production: What Producers Need to Know

1. Water Management & Coffee Production: What Producers Need to Know Coffee is one of the most significant and highly valued cash crops across the world. It also constitutes one of the most popular beverages of the eastern and western worlds, being only second to water! According to a Statista report, the global coffee production in 2018-2019 increased to reach 170.94 million 60- kilogram bags, from 158.07 million 60-kilogram bags grown in the preceding year. With 299,300 million tons (MT) of coffee produced in 2019-2020, India happens to be the sixth-largest global coffee producer. However, while coffee’s production and popularity continue to grow YoY, at the backend, Indian coffee producers, especially those growing it in full sun, remain confronted with concerns making coffee production increasingly challenging. The most significant one is the scarcity of water. Indian cultivators need a solution that enables them to manage water efficiently, helps them augment the crop yield, and enhance the crop’s quality. As a responsible coffee producer, we appreciate your endeavors to achieve water efficiency and increase coffee production in the available land. You’ve taken your first step towards sustainable coffee cultivation, and which will help you become a better coffee producer. In this view, Netafim brings to you this blog that guides you on protecting water resources and does what is necessary to grow an increased and marketable coffee crop yield. Global Coffee Production in Different Environments and the Need for Water Conservation With profits and high market values come high investments in terms of water and costs. Cultivating a 125 ml cup of coffee requires around 135-140 liters of water. A consumer enjoying a cup of coffee may not realize the amount of water incurred in growing it! Nevertheless, as a coffee cultivator, you must; so that you strike a balance between increasing coffee yield, improving its quality, and ensuring that you optimize water use while saving it. Until lately, water availability for Arabica cultivation in subtropical regions was not a concern. The areas received frequent rainfall, and they enjoyed well-defined and regularized wet and dry seasons. However, climate changes have now started affecting the coffee production capacity of these regions. Prolonged drought spells and irregular rainfalls are negatively impacting the coffee production levels of countries with a subtropical climate. On the other hand, sun-grown coffee production features higher yields. It constitutes a prudent solution for farm spreads that don’t earn as many profits from their coffee. But then again, with the sun-grown counterpart, farmers lose onto a lot of benefits of shade coffee cultivation. One of them is the unavailability of nutrients and increased fertilizer use. The other one is the water stress that affects photosynthesis in sun plants. Considering futuristic demands and the need to increase farming profits, farmers must look beyond the above coffee production techniques' short-term pros and cons. They must embrace water-efficient irrigation techniques to combat weather vagaries, depleting water resources, and ensure that their coffee is adequate and excellent. One of the solutions to this concern is drip irrigation. How? Let us explore! A Comparison between the Conventional Overhead Sprinkler System (OHS) and Drip Irrigation System Over head sprinkler, better known as OHS, is conventionally perceived as one of the best irrigation systems for coffee plantation. However, drip irrigation, in recent times, and especially given the several uncertainties that coffee cultivators remain surrounded with, has proved an extremely effective, productive and profitable solution.

2. Netafim has helped several coffee producers from Karnataka grow more and better in less. Click on this link to read Netafim’s coffee success stories. So, let us compare OHS and drip irrigation system and see which system proves a better and a more sustainable alternative from the viewpoint of increasing production, bettering quality and earn more profits per coffee bag. Over Head Sprinkler System Drip Irrigation System During ripening, OHS can cause a lot of cherry drops, thereby reducing the final yield by around 30-40% Drip keeps foliage and cherry dry, thus reducing the likelihood of diseases and cherry drops Wind pressure can impact water supply through OHS Drip is devoid of wind pressures, as water is supplied through drip lines directly to the crop root zone Tall trees can impede water supply through OHS Such impediments do not influence drip water supply Higher amount of water and pressure required Precision water and pressure requirements, thus helping cultivators save water The chances of fertigation are negligible Fertigation is uniform across all the plants Lesser water and fertilizer efficiency Water and fertilizer efficiency increases by up to 50- 60% High chances of run offs Eliminates soil erosion Inconsistent supply of water and nutrients causes uneven berry size and inconsistent quality Drip lines are set across the entire cultivable spread. So, every plant receives the precise and the same amount of water and nutrients. As a result, you grow high quality coffee throughout. How does Drip Irrigation help Increase Indian Coffee Production and Improve Coffee Crop Quality? Coffee cultivation through drip irrigation involves installing drip lines across the cultivable farm spread. It includes irrigating the coffee plants every 1 to 3 days, depending on the weather, the soil’s water-holding capacity, and the crop's development stage. However, apart from these, drip irrigation proves a solution to many other concerns of Indian coffee producers such as inconsistent crop quality, fruit abortions, lower RoI, and water loss. 1.Crop Uniformity and Reduced Fruit Abortions Drip irrigation work on the principle of supplying a precise amount of water and nutrients to the crop root zone. So, your coffee plants (throughout every corner of the farm) get the amount of water they require depending on the climate, the soil conditions, and crop development stage. Such consistent water supply throughout the cultivable land helps you achieve crop uniformity and reduce fruit abortions. 2.Increased Cherry Size, Optimal Crop Growth Potential, and Commercial Benefit As each of your coffee plants receives water and nutrients in the required quantities, it increases the cherry size and optimizes the crop growth potential. Besides, you also graduate cultivation from initial planting to comprehensive mainstream commercial production in only three years, thus increasing your RoI. 3.Avoids Nutritional Deficiency, Leaching, and Water Loss due to evaporation Conventional irrigation methods supply water to the soil. However, drip irrigation involves water supply to the crop root zone. It avoids water loss due to evaporation, improves aeration and crops get what they need to grow. As a

3. result, you save water and ensure healthy crop growth throughout the farm spread. Apart from that, they also prevent leaching and water run-offs. The prevention of excess water supply minimizes weed growth. 4.Irrigation Controlled through Digital Means Precision irrigation is a modern-age technique. You can connect irrigation control with digital devices that help you set schedules, compute daily water and nutritional requirements of the crop, and exercise remote control over the irrigation process. Besides, the continual availability of real-time agricultural insights helps you make quick and informed decisions, thus simplifying and streamlining coffee cultivation through drip irrigation. Fertigation in Coffee Cultivation Fertigation involves supplying water and nutrients in the required quantities and at a rate as close as possible to the plants’ uptake. It helps maintain high soil and plant water potential throughout the cultivation season (excluding stress periods), and deliver dissolved fertilizers based on the plant specific uptake of each nutrient. Besides, it limits the dependency on soil’s water and nutrient holding capacity, and reduces leaching of fertilizers. 8 Water Management Tips for Coffee Producers Water scarcity is here to stay, and food demands are only going to increase with time. So far, you might have pulled it off with conventional irrigation systems. However, considering water scarcity in the years to come, you need to adopt modern irrigation practices, precisely drip irrigation. These practices will help you sustain and achieve water efficiency. So, let us look at eight water management tips that will help you as a coffee producer. 1.Research your Land Spread Well The availability of several hectares of land does not refer to higher crop productivity. Land fertility may differ from corner to corner. Hence, you must analyze your land, fertility, and soil to ensure you optimize coffee production within the available cultivable land. The key is to research the land where you intend to grow coffee. Select sites with good drainage and porous soil, as areas with these attributes, pose a lesser flood damage risk. Sometimes, budding coffee producers are seen experimenting with coffee cultivation on areas with open tracts. It proves an unfavorable practice for coffee production, as often, such tracts are prone to erosion and flash flood damage. As a result, the sprouts either suffer damages or get washed away thoroughly. To avoid it, you must choose areas with proven results in the form of healthy vegetation. 2.Maintain Excellent Soil Health Maintaining excellent soil health is necessary for healthy crop growth. Soil with high macro and micronutrient content offers better water retention and absorption. Supplying excess nutrients can result in a higher crop water demand and anything in excess proves harmful to crop growth. Hence, the key to maintain soil health is providing water and nutrients only in the required quantities. Besides, as roots absorb a lot of water, oxygen, and nutrients, you must maintain healthy soil moisture levels and balance. 3.Implement Intercropping Intercropping helps to maintain soil health, provides shade cover, and regulate moisture. It also proves commercially supportive and beneficial, since you reduce your dependencies on a single crop for sustenance. 4.Plant Native Trees Planting native trees is another essential element to consider, as it has a natural regulating effect. The roots of native trees penetrate deep and help the soil absorb and maintain the required moisture levels. Besides, as they are native, they integrate well with the local ecosystem, further simplifying crop cultivation for you. 5.Use Ground Cover

4. Using ground cover helps you improve the soil structure, add organic elements, and maintain soil moisture. The practice proves useful in areas that receive excess water or are likely to flood during monsoon. 6.Plant Crops Horizontally in Rows If you’ve got a hillside farm, prefer planting crops in horizontal rows, along the incline, instead of vertical ones. It will help you slow the groundwater flow and also prevent erosion. 7.Look for Hydric Stress Signs Hydric stress is characterized by withering of leaves in the hottest part of the day during the year's dry days. Prolonged water unavailability may hamper the growth of sugar content in the coffee cherries, thereby increasing the vulnerability of plants towards diseases. So, ensure that you look for signs of hydric stress. 8.Keep Collecting Daily Insights Collecting daily insights includes checking your region’s water tables and collecting daily climatic data and leveraging those insights to save as much water possible and ensure adequate water supply to the plants. Partnering with Netafim can prove helpful in this regard. An Indian Coffee Producer who Worked Wonders with Drip Irrigation Dharamraj from Geetha Estate in Honkaravalli, Sakleshwar, Hassan, Karnataka, is one of those coffee producers who has achieved significant benefits from Netafim’s coffee drip irrigation. It includes better cherry quality, increased coffee production within the available land spread, and achieving the desired water efficiency levels. If Dharamraj could, you too can! To know how let us delve into the technicalities of coffee drip irrigation. Watch Dharamraj’s experience with Netafim on https://www.netafimindia.com/crop-knowledge/coffee/. Netafim – Your Partner for Coffee Drip Irrigation in India Netafim is one of the leading drip irrigation companies in the world. The company has been helping Indian coffee producers across the country's coffee-producing regions grow more and grow better coffee through efficient drip systems. It also enables Indian coffee cultivators to save water and increase their RoI by cultivating a marketable crop. Connect with Netafim for more details on coffee cultivation through coffee drip irrigation.