As rising temperatures, shifting rainfall, and increased pest pressure reduce yields and quality of Arabica and Robusta coffees, the two species that account for nearly all commercial production, researchers and growers are turning to overlooked coffee species for a more climate-resilient future, Mongabay-India contributor Meena Menon reports.
Arabica (Coffea arabica) and Robusta (C. canephora) have long dominated the global coffee industry. Other coffee species such as Excelsa (C. dewevrei) were previously relegated to the margins of coffee plantations as boundary markers or shade trees in India. Akshay Dashrath, co-founder of the South India Coffee Company (SICC), is leading efforts to re-evaluate Excelsa for its potential resilience.
According to the SICC, a British planter introduced Excelsa to India in the late 1800s as an alternative to Arabica. However, it grew tall and dense, making it an impractical crop to manage and commercialize.
Dashrath’s farm in Kodagu district in Karnataka state has 60-year-old Excelsa trees that his family preserved, which are now a source for trials aimed at scaling production. His company is collaborating with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew to do the research.
Aaron Davis, a senior research leader at the Royal Botanic Gardens, said that the dominance of Arabica and Robusta in the global markets could see major disruptions in the next decade or so from other coffee crop species adapted to altered climates.
Excelsa, native to parts of Tropical and West Africa as well as Southeast Asia, is already being scaled in Uganda and Vietnam. According to Kiwuka Catherine, a senior research officer at the National Agricultural Research Organization in Uganda, farmers in Uganda who have been growing Excelsa over hundreds of acres since the 2000s have reported that the species is more productive, resilient and profitable than Robusta.
Davis said Excelsa’s mild flavor could soon make it a staple, predicting that “Ugandan Excelsa could feature in supermarkets within a decade.”
Other climate-resilient coffee species being studied for their potential include Stenophylla (C. stenophylla), which offers an Arabica-like flavor with superior heat tolerance, and Liberica (C. liberica), which thrives in diverse conditions from humid lowlands to drier regions.
Pranoy Thipaiah, manager of Kerehaklu coffee estate in Karnataka’s Chikkamagalaru district, said that Excelsa and Liberica also have long growing periods, allowing them to be harvested in March and April, when the threat of unseasonal rains that often damage Arabica crops have usually passed.
Kew-led research has further identified a new hybrid between Liberica and Excelsa, proposed as Libex coffee (Coffea × libex ) that may be able to better withstand heat and moisture stress while resisting disease.
As the search for climate-resilient coffee gains momentum, the transition to mainstream will require focused research, government backing, and consumer acceptance, experts said.
Read the full story by Meena Menon here.
Banner image: Excelsa coffee fruits harvested at Kerehaklu Estate in Chikkamagalaru district, where Excelsa and Liberica coffee have been grown since 1953. Image courtesy of Pranoy Thipaiah.
This story first appeared on Mongabay
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