page_title: Coffee production in India
section_title: Growing conditions
hierarchical_section_title: Coffee production in India / Production / Growing conditions
caption_attribution_description: English: Robusta coffee (Coffea canephora; syn. Coffea robusta) is a species of coffee that has its origins in central and western sub-Saharan Africa. It is a species of flowering plant in the Rubiaceae family. Though widely known as Coffea robusta, the plant is scientifically identified as Coffea canephora, which has two main varieties - Robusta and Nganda. The plant has a shallow root system and grows as a robust tree or shrub to about 10 metres. It flowers irregularly, taking about 10–11 months for cherries to ripen, producing oval-shaped beans. The robusta plant has a greater crop yield than that of Coffea arabica, and contains more caffeine - 2.7% compared to arabica's 1.5%. As it is less susceptible to pests and disease, robusta needs much less herbicide and pesticide than arabica. Originating in upland forests in Ethiopia, C. canephora grows indigenously in Western and Central Africa. It was not recognized as a species of Coffea until the 19th century, about a hundred years after Coffea arabica.
context_page_description: Coffee production in India is dominated in the hill tracts of South Indian states, with Karnataka accounting for 71%, followed by Kerala with 21% and Tamil Nadu. Indian coffee is said to be the finest coffee grown in the shade rather than direct sunlight anywhere in the world. There are about 250,000 coffee growers in the country; 98% of them are small growers. As of 2009, Indian coffee made up just 4.5% of the global production. Almost 80% of Indian coffee is exported; 70% is bound for Germany, Russia, Spain, Belgium, Slovenia, United States, Japan, Greece, Netherlands and France. Italy accounts for 29% of the exports. Most of the export is shipped through the Suez Canal.
  Coffee is grown in three regions of India with Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu forming the traditional coffee growing region, followed by the new areas developed in the non-traditional areas of Andhra Pradesh and Orissa in the eastern coast of the country and with a third region comprising the states of Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh of Northeastern India, popularly known as “Seven Sister States of India".
context_section_description: All coffee grown in India are grown in shade and commonly with two tiers of shade. Often inter-cropped with spices such as cardamom, cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg, the coffees gain aromatics from the inter-cropping, storage, and handling functions. Growing altitudes range between 1,000 m (3,300 ft) to 1,500 m (4,900 ft) above sea level for Arabica (premier coffee), and 500 m (1,600 ft) to 1,000 m (3,300 ft) for Robusta (though of lower quality, it is robust to environment conditions). Ideally, both Arabica and Robusta are planted in well-drained soil conditions that favour rich organic matter that is slightly acidic (pH 6.0–6.5). However, India's coffees tend to be moderately acidic which can lead to either a balanced and sweet taste, or a listless and inert one. Slopes of Arabica tend to be gentle to moderate, while Robusta slopes are gentle to fairly level.
  Blooming and maturing
  Blooming is the time when coffee plants bloom with white flowers which last for about 3–4 days (termed "evanescent" period) before they mature into seeds. When coffee plantations are in full bloom it is a delightful sight to watch. The time period between blooming and maturing of the fruit varies appreciably with the variety and the climate; for the Arabica, it is about seven months, and for the Robusta, about nine months. The fruit is gathered by hand when it is fully ripe and red-purple in colour.
  Climatic conditions
  Ideal climatic conditions to grow coffee are related to temperature and rainfall; temperatures in the range of 73 °F (23 °C) and 82 °F (28 °C) with rainfall incidence in the range of 60–80 inches (1.5–2.0 m) followed by a dry spell of 2–3 months suit the Arabica variety. Cold temperatures closer to freezing conditions are not suitable to grow coffee. Where the rainfall is less than 40 inches (1.0 m), providing irrigation facilities is essential. In the tropical region of the south Indian hills, these conditions prevail leading to coffee plantations flourishing in large numbers. Relative humidity for Arabica ranges 70–80% while for Robusta it ranges 80–90%.
  Coffee diseases
  The common disease to which the coffee plants are subjected to in India is on account of fungus growth. This fungus is called the Hemileia vastatrix, an endophytous that grows within the matter of the leaf; effective cure has not been discovered to eliminate this. The second type of disease is known as the coffee rot, which has caused severe damages during the rainy season, particularly to plantations in Karnataka. Pellicularia koleroga was the name given to this rot or rust, which turns the leaves into black colour due to the coverage by a slimy gelatinous film. It is now classified as Ceratobasidium noxium This causes the coffee leaves and the cluster of coffee berries to drop off to the ground. Snakes such as cobras can also cause a nuisance to coffee plantations in India.
caption: Coffee flower
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