Arabica coffee in the Northern Philippine highlands: growing areas and cultivars for organic production

Coffee is one of the top priority crops in the Philippine highlands. Among the cultivated coffee species in the locality, Arabica is the most popular, existed for centuries and has been part of the culture and lifestyle of highlanders. The research was conducted to: identify the specific locations of Arabica coffee for organic production; characterize Arabica coffee cultivars and accessions as to their morphological variations, relationships and diversity; and identify and recommend Arabica coffee cultivars for organic production. Growing areas devoted to organic Arabica coffee production were assessed using GPS navigation device. Collection trips were done in the different agro-ecological zones. During the trips, Arabica coffee cultivars were morphologically characterized in in-situ. The three year evaluation of Arabica coffee cultivars for organic production was concluded with cup quality assessment. The Arabica coffee growing areas practicing organic production were classified under the high hills zone with elevations ranging from 500-1,000 m asl; low mountain zone (1001 to 1,500 m asl); and the mid-mountain zone areas surveyed with the mid mountain zone occupying the largest and having highest number of coffee trees planted. Germplasm collection resulted in the gene banking of 152 Arabica coffee accessions. Most of the accessions were collected from the mid-mountain zone. Low diversity was observed among the morphological characters of the cultivars and accessions. The Arabica coffee accessions were clustered according to six major cultivars grown in the different agro-ecological zones. More than two sub-clusters in each major cluster revealed variation. Arabica coffee cultivars for recommendation under organic production based on green bean yield, resistance to pests and cupping quality are Granica Broad, Mondo Nuvo, Red Bourbon and MSAC Selection No. 1.