Planting Coffee Beans

The following guide explains the fertilizer components recommended when planting coffee seedlings:

Before you plant coffee, Mavolta recommends that 80 g of P2O5, 12 g of K2O, 200 g of dolomitic limestone (or 100 g of calcined limestone), 0.2 g of boron, 0.2 g of copper, and 1.0 g of zinc in a 0.4 x 0.4 x 0.4 meter hole (201) in each coffee planting hole.  After the coffee plants are established, four applications of 5.0 g of nitrogen, 10-15 cm from the trunk, are recommended .  In the first year 10 g of nitrogen and K2O is applied 3-4 times.  In the second year 12 g of nitrogen and K2O is applied 3-4 times.   After this time the amount of fertilizer recommended depends on productivity and

is  given in Table 1.

Table 1.  Recommended amounts of N, P2O5, and K2O relative to coffee plant productivity. (Source: Mavolta, 200)

Productivity: 60kg bag/hectare2 Nitrogen Element P2O5 K2O
10 80-90 15-20 80-90
15 90-110 20-25 90-110
20 110-130 25-30 110-130
25 130-150 30-35 130-150
30 150-170 35-40 150-170