コーヒーは飲みますか?これを読んでいるなら、その可能性は非常に高いです。統計によると、アメリカのコーヒー愛好家は世界の輸入量の20%を占めています。これにより、米国内でのコーヒー農園の成長が、常に需要の高いコーヒー市場に新たな出口を提供する可能性があります。最近、学術誌『クロップサイエンス』に発表された研究では、フロリダ州でコーヒーが特産作物としての可能性を秘めていることが示されました。
フロリダ大学食品農業科学研究所の研究者たちは、州の気候と土壌がこの作物を支えられるかどうかを3年間調査しました。4種類のコーヒー品種を用いた結果、チームは高い収量、高いコーヒー品質、そして柑橘類農場を上回る利益を得られることを発見しました。
「この対比は、柑橘の収益性が低下した地域において、コーヒーが代替の高付加価値作物として経済的に可能性を示唆している」と、ブルーベリーや他の果物の育種にも携わるUF/IFAS研究助手科学者ルイス・フェリペ・フェラオン率いる研究者たちは述べています。
UF/IFASのアシスタントリサーチサイエンティスト、フェリペ・フェラーオが、フロリダ中部の温室で育つコーヒーの植物を調査しています。コーヒーはフロリダ州の現金作物に育つことはありますか?
写真提供:キャット・ウォフォード、UF/IFAS Photography
The search for new places to grow coffee has been an urgent issue for industry. New pests, diseases, price instability and climate change are all driving up costs around the world. These pressures may create an opportunity for domestic production, though perhaps not on a large scale. The researchers highlighted Florida’s network of specialty roasters, coffee shops, and small-scale farm-to-table operations as potential beneficiaries.
The trial also challenged the team’s expectations about the most potent barriers to coffee production. While they originally worried about climate and soil conditions, they found the intense management needs of coffee to be the biggest constraint.
Florida’s climate caused no major losses, and its sandy soils were enriched to support the crop. But finding expertise in fertilization, irrigation, pruning and other techniques was difficult.
“We noticed that the limited availability of local labor with experience in coffee cultivation proved to be a significant constraint,” they wrote.
Substantial work remains to determine coffee’s viability in Florida. Data captured only the very first harvests of young, three-year-old trees. Moreover, exploring additional coffee types could identify the best fit for Florida’s weather extremes.
Climate-smart coffee beans being grown in South Florida. Photo by Felipe Ferrāo, UF/IFAS Photography
UF/IFAS researchers state, “one of the biggest challenges is that coffee is not traditionally part of Florida’s crop portfolio. While we can borrow knowledge from established crops such as citrus, many production practices must still be adapted specifically for coffee.”
For example, coffee has its own fertilizer needs, local diseases and stressors, pruning requirements and seed propagation. The crop also requires plenty of specialized equipment to harvest and process.
CLICK HERE to read the study in its entirety.
Loading ...Paul Rusnak is the Senior Multimedia Specialist for Meister Media Worldwide's Specialty Crops Division, which consists of American Vegetable Grower, American Fruit Grower, and Greenhouse Grower, all Meister Media brands. He is based in Northeast Florida. See all author stories here.
