Coffee Cultivation and Climate Change_Luca Turello_L1 - Coffee vs. Wine Sector

Coffee vs. Wine Sector: A Detailed Comparison

Initial discussion about the presence of Professor Pederlunger.
Acknowledgement to Eva for hosting the session.
The lecture begins by summarizing the previous lesson, noting that the coffee sector appears more delayed than the wine sector in terms of performance gaps between best and worst performers.

Mechanization: Coffee regions allowing mechanization due to plant height (up to four meters) benefit from this, as lateral branches produce coffee berries.
Other Factors: Fertilization, plant protection, spacing, and orientation of coffee rows also play crucial roles.
Regional Limitations: In areas like Guatemala, manual harvesting restricts plant height due to the reach of harvesters (chaperones).

The AI-generated image of a Brazilian farmer highlights dependence on externalities, particularly fertilizers.
Fertilizer Dependence: The farmer requires tons of fertilizer per hectare, costing millions of US dollars.
Commodity Uncertainty: Coffee is a commodity with uncertain value, and fertilizer prices fluctuate due to their relation to petrol-derived ammonia.
Speculation: This uncertainty leads coffee farmers to speculate, which is a reasonable response to managing risks.

The case of Ethiopian coffee plantations illustrates unsustainable practices with missing leaves and lateral branches.
Key Issues: Problems include spacing, pruning, fertilization, and genetics.

Brazilian Genetics: Initially focused on productivity, now also emphasizes quality.
Delayed Adoption: Other regions lag in adopting varieties that efficiently convert nutrients into coffee beans.

Hedging and Topping: Recommended pruning system for regions like Ethiopia.
Lateral Branch Maintenance: Lateral branches should be maintained at 35-40 cm to prevent dieback.
Binding: Another solution, but it interferes with spacing and requires intensive manual labor.
Comparison to Wine: Wine production is easier because it occurs on the shoots of the year, unlike coffee, which flowers on two-year-old branches.

Coffee Pruning Challenges: Coffee production relies on two-year-old branches, making pruning complex.
Wine Production Ease: In viticulture, the production unit is one bud, allowing easy modulation of yield per hectare.
Bud Count Control: Yield forecasts can be made by adjusting bud count per plant/hectare, with each bud producing ~1.5 clusters.
Coffee's Difficulty: Coffee requires annual renewal of wood for new flowers and berries, unlike wine, where production can restart from the same position with a permanent cordon.

Wine Sector Limitations: Wine production is limited by protocol (e.g., 10 tons of grape wine) to maintain quality.
Coffee's Seed Focus: Coffee quality remains consistent with proper nourishment, as the seed is the primary object, not the pulp as in wine.

Nutrition is crucial for plant resistance to diseases and pests.
Soil microbiota, variety, genetics, and irrigation (where possible) are important.
Proper nourishment allows plants to maximize genetic potential and terroir-specific qualities, leading to excellent quality and sustainable yields.
Climate plays a significant role, but cannot be controlled.

Plant immunization is a frontier of research, leading to biostimulant products in the market.
Plants possess immune systems like humans and animals, activating defenses upon attack and developing memory (vaccine-like response).
Plants communicate with each other, alerting others to pest or disease attacks.

Pattern recognition receptors and hypersensitive responses are key.
Hypersensitive response involves cells isolating pathogens by depositing substances, preventing fungal growth.
Research identifies molecules that trigger resistance, such as hazmatonic acid, phenolic compounds, ketosan, and seaweed extract.
Salicylic acid, along with hazmatonic acid, induces plant resistance.

Many melicitors, stimulators, and biostimulants are available in the market, activating plants based on identified patterns.
Immune deficient system exist in plants like human beings, and these can be induced with biostimulants such as amino sugars, antioxidants, ketosyn, and seaweed.
Caution advised due to market saturation with products promising unrealistic results.
Biostimulants are ineffective if plants are not well-nourished, fertilized, or managed.

Seaweed product tests showed good results, zero leaf rust, however it was due to zero leafs on the shrubs.
New products should be tested on small plots first to avoid adverse effects.