Title
Desiccation and storage studies on three cultivars of Arabica coffee
Author
Huang, Y.
Publication
SEED SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Year
2014
Volume
42
Issue
1
Corresponding Author
Lan, QY
Abstract
Freshly harvested mature seeds of three cultivars of Arabica coffee (Coffea arabica var. Jamaica, cv. catimor 7963 and cv. blue mountain 1) were used to examine the effect of temperature (10-35 degrees C) on germination, the desiccation tolerance of seeds following rapid dehydration and the effects of storage temperature (4, 10 and 15 degrees C) on germination. Seeds attained a higher germination at 20, 25 and 30 degrees C (P < 0.05) than at other temperatures. Seeds of blue mountain 1 are the most tolerant to desiccation, with seeds of Jamaica being superior to those of catimor 7963. A high seed water content (about 0.1026 g H2O g(-1) DW) combined with a storage temperature of 15 degrees C was found to be the most suitable set of conditions for the conservation of Arabica coffee seeds.