Abstract

BUSTAMANTE, José; CASANOVA, Anabel; NUMA, Román  and  MONTERREY, Carmen. Early estimation of potential yield in coffee (Coffea arabica L.) var. Bramón I. Bioagro [online]. 2004, vol.16, n.1, pp.3-8. ISSN 1316-3361.

Genetic improvement in coffee by conventional breeding strategies is a slow process because of the long pre bearing period and also requires high budgets as it involves the evaluation of a large number of generations for obtaining stable varieties. Hence, the present study is aimed at developing an efficient selection index in coffee to select the desirable plants with consistent yield potential, in the early stages of plant life. Individual plants of 20 breeding lines of Coffea arabica var. Bramón I were selected, and at the second year of age the stem diameter at base was determined. Initial production of these plants was recorded for four consecutive years and evaluated the production of cherry beans per plant and estimated the yield of green coffee per hectare. The results showed that there was a correlation between the diameter of the stem base and clean coffee yield and hence this parameter could be indirectly used for predicting the yield potential of a line. An equation was formulated by including the diameter of the stem base and the production of second and third year (Y = 0.20Æ + 0.44 P2,3 + 0.60 (R² = 0.91**)). This new index had strong correlation with the average production levels of four years and may allow the selection of promising plant types, facilitating for high intensity selection in coffee.

Keywords : Plant breeding; yield; selection index.