Coffee soils in India belong to the red and lateritic soils. The soils differ in texture from sandy loam to clayey loam, and in colour they differ from light gray to deep red. Red ferruginous clays occur in tracts, e.g., Bababudangiris in Karnataka and the Nilgiris in Tamil Nadu. They have good aggregating ability and are generally well-drained. They are rich in organic matter, and are acidic to neutral. The total soluble salts are well below the sensitivity limits. They are well stocked with potassium, but are generally low in available phosphorus. They are also poor in calcium and magnesium. They respond well to liming, manuring and other soil management practices.

The soil used for for raising seedlings should be rich in organic matter, free from nematodes, cockchafer larvae and wireworms. Farmyard manure, sand and lime are also important ingredients of the nursery soil. The seed is treated evenly with Thiram or Vitavax at 20 g per forlit (3/4 oz per bushel) before sowing. This treatment protects the seed against any fungal infection occurring during germination. A gently sloping area of sheltered land, without large trees, is selected for the nursery. It should also have a water source nearby. Light to medium loamy soils should be used. It should be fenced off to prevent the entry of cattle and other grazing animals. A seedbed raised to a height of about 15 cm, usually about 1 metre in width and of conventient length is prepared. Four baskets (about 2 forlite) of fully decomposed cattle manure or compost, about 2 kg of finely sieved lime and 400 g of rock phosphate are incorporated into a bed measuring 1m X 6m. If heavy soils are used, it may be necessary to add coarse sand to facilitate drainage and aeration. Seeds should be sown in December or January. With the flat side facing the soil, the seeds are placed on the surface of the bed, 1.5-2.5 cm apart from one another in regular rows. A thin layer of fine soil is then put on the seeds to cover them. The bed is then covered with a layer of about 5 cm of paddy straw to ensure an even temperature and prevent the soil surface from drying. The beds are watered daily and protected from direct sunlight with an over-head pandal constructed for this purpose. The seeds germinate in about 46 days. The seedlings are then transplanted in secondary nursery-beds for raising ball plants or in nursery baskets or bags, as desired.

Disease-free and vigorous seedlings are selected for planting. Seedlings with stunted and twisted roots are discarded. Rooted plants (16-18 months old), with and without balls, are planted during June and the ball and bag plants are generally planted from September to October. A hole is made in the centre of the filled-up pit after leveling the soil. The seedling is placed in the hole, with its tap-root and lateral roots spread out properly. The hole is then filled with soil. The soil around a seedling is packed firmly and evenly about 2.5 cm higher than the surrounding ground to prevent the stagnation of water around the collar. The seedlings are provided with cross-stakes to prevent damage from winds. Ball and bag seedlings are planted towards the end of the heavy monsoon rains and with the commencement of north-eastern rains, i.e., in September. First, the bottom portion of the bag is cut and the tip of the taproot is nipped. The seedling is gently removed from the bag with its soil and root-system intact and planted in the hole. The hole is covered with soil and the plant is firmly fixed. It is wise to maintain both types of nurseries and adopt two planting seasons, viz., June and September.

Dadap is commonly used as a lower-canopy shade tree. Two metres long stakes are fixed for every two plants of coffee. Silver oak and dadap are planted during June when the rains of the south-westerly monsoon commence. During the dry season, the stems of young dadap are either painted with ato protect them againstaun-scorch.

After-care

1. The clearing should be well fenced to prevent damage to coffee and dadap from stray cattle.
2. The plants should be protected against cockchafer attack during the first two years by applying Carbofuran or other granular insecticides around the seedlings.
3. Weeds should be cradicated either manually or by using a weedicide, depending on the nature of the weeds. It is important that grassweeds should be eradicated in the very first year.
4. The soil around the seedlings should be mulched properly and the plants provided with artificial shade with branchlets of jungle trees.
5. No manure needs to be applied till May-June of the following year. Sprinkler irrigation may be given, wherever it is possible. The greatest damage occurs, especially when the seedlings are exposed directly to sunshine.
6. It is advisable to give a spray of Bordeaux mixture along with urea and potash during December to protect the seedlings against pests and diseases, e.g. green bug and Cercospora.
7. Plant-protection measure should be adopted meticulously.

Coffee is a perennial crop and the true has the dual function of maturing the berries and producing fresh wood for the succeeding crop. It has been estimated that a crop of one tonne of clean-coffee removes from the soil 34 kg of N, 5 kg of P2O5 and 45 kg of K2O in the case of arabica and 35 kg of N, 7 kg of P2O5 and 39 kg of K2O in the case of robusta varieties. The nutrients removed by the crop account for only one-third of the total requirements for producing a healthy framework and cropping wood. Considerable quantities of nutrients are also lost through leaching under a heavy rainfall and as a result of the fixation and immobilization of nutrients in the soil. Such a depletion may lead to the impoverishment of the soil and the consequent reduction in yield. It is, therefore, necessary to replace the lost nutrients by applying adequate quantities of fertilizers. Based on the results of experiments carried out over a number of years and making due allowances for the plant food removed by the coffee plant and the productive capacity of the bushes, the basic requirements of fertilizers are given in Table 3. These general recommendations are subject to revision in respect of individual estates, based on soil and plant analysis, soil type, intensity of shade and the productive potential of the block.

A shade-tree should be fast-growing and spreading to allow a uniform amount of filtered light. Its root-system should be deep, so that it does not compete with coffee plant for food and moisture. The trees which serve as alternative hosts to the major insect pests of coffee must be avoided. Dadap (Erythrina lithosperma) is, by far, the universal temporary shade-tree in India. It is always planted temporary shade-tree in India. It is always planted along with coffee in the new clearings. It is easily raised from stakes, has very quick growth, stands frequent loppings, regenerates very rapidly and is a legume that enriches the soil by fixing the atmospheric nitrogen through its root nodules. The most popular permanent shade-trees belong to the Indian fig and legume families. They are Fiews glomeraia, F. retusa, F. nervosa, and F. tsjkela among the figs, and Albizia stipulota, A. lebbeck, A. moluccana, and A. Sumairana among the legumes. Other common shade-trees are Dalbergia latifolia, Arlocarpus integrifolia, Bischofia javanica and Grevillea robusta. Permanent shade-tress are generally planted about 12 to 14 m apart. It is desirable to plant a large number at first and gradually thin them out as they grow and spread out. The tress have to be regulated in such a way that in course of time, they have their canopy about 10 to 14 m above coffee plants. Shade-tress require constant attention by way of pruning and lopping to furnish the required shade. Shade-trees are usually raised from seeds and also from stakes. Seedlings are grown in the nursery for about a year before they are transplanted in the field.

Quality is a summative index of many characteristics of coffee, such as its appearance in the raw, roast tastes, and its liquor qualities comprising factors, such as aroma, body and acidity. Quality can be influenced by nutritional factors and weather conditions during the development and maturity stages of the beans. While it is possible to overcome the influence of these factors by adopting improved cultural practices, correct processing techniques are necessary to prevent deterioration in quality. Faulty processing can bring about deterioration of even the best-quality coffee. Proper processing on the estates can go a long way in preserving and enhancing the inherent qualities of good coffee. Coffee is processed in two ways:

1. Wet processing by which plantation or parchment coffee is prepared, and
1. The dry method by which cherry coffee is prepared.

For the preparation of both parchment and cherry types of coffee, picking of the right type of fruits forms an essential part of processing. Coffee fruits should be picked as and when they become ripe. Coffee is just ripe when on gently squeezing the fruit, the been insid pops out. Under-ripe and over-ripe fruits cause deterioration in quality, the former tending to produce "immature beans", and the latter `foxy’ coffee. If, for any reason, it is not possible to pick coffee, as and when it ripens, the over and under-ripe fruits should be scrupulously sorted out before using them for pulping. They may be dried separately for making cherry coffee. It is advisable to wash and dry frequently the bags used for collecting the harvested fruits. Bags in which fertilizers, pesticides and fungicides are stored should never be used for this purpose.

1. Pulping The preparation of coffee with the wet method requires pulping equipment and an adequate supply of clean water. Fruits should be pulped on the same day to avoid fermentation. The pulper should be properly adjusted and checked every day for satisfactory pulping and to prevent cuts. The pulper-nipped beans and other deformed beans will result in defective parchment. Fruits may be fed into the pulper through a siphon arrangement to ensure uniform feeding and to separate lights and floats from sound fruits. Uniform feeding ensures the proper removal of skins and prevents cuts, the choking of pulper, etc. The pulped parchment should be sieved to eliminate any unpulped fruits and fruit skins. The skins separated by pulping should be led away from the vats into the collection pits, so that their microbial decomposition will not affect the bean quality when they get mixed with the bean. 2. Demucilaging and Washing

For preparing cherry coffee, the fruits should be spread evenly with a thickness of about 8 cm (3 inches) on clean drying-ground. It is desirable that drying is carried out on tiled or concrete floors. Coffee should be stirred and ridged at least once every hour. As in the case of parchment, the coffee may be heaped up and covered every day in the evening, and spread again the next morning after the mist clears up. The cherry is dry when a fistful of the drying cherry rattles when shaken, and a sample forlit records the same weight on two consecutive days. The cherry should be completely dried at the end of 12 to 15 days in bright weather. Each lot of cherry may be bagged separately in clean new gunnies.

After harvesting, some green fruits of coffee may still be clinging to the plants. They are stripped off completely, dried and sent to the curing works separately. This coffee must be bagged and marked distinctly as strippings.

Stores should be kept well ventilated and dry without letting in moisture or rain-water. The bags containing dried parchment or cherry should be stored on raised wooden platforms to ensure the circulation of air beneath the bags. The parchment and cherry coffee should not be stacked together. It is desirable that they are stacked in separate compartments in the store. Other materials, especially fertilizers, pesticides, etc. should not be stored in the same room. The bagged coffee should be dispatched to the curing works at the earliest opportunity. The bags must bear labels in respect of their grades, lot numbers and other details, such as parchment and cherry, with instructions to cure them separately. All gleanings, and floats should be packed and sent separately for curing.