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AIR TEMPERATURE in coffea arabica microclimate arborized with dwarf coconut palm and rubber tree in Mococa, SP, Brazil***
 

CAMARGO*, Marcelo B.P.,
ROLIM*, Glauco S.,
SOUZA**, Paulo
GALLO**, Paulo, B.

Introduction

            The arborization, a shading management system, is a crop production system that has been increasing areas in Brazil. However it has been considered appropriate for areas that present risks of high temperatures, as well as frosts, providing crop sustentability, higher yields and beverege quality improvement.
 

            The arborizated systems, due to heterogeneous nature of the canopies, the physical environment interacts in a more complex way to the coffe plants compared with the conventional system (Pezzopane et al., 2003).
 

              The effect of arborization in relation to the microclimate has been studied for many authors (Baggio et al., 1997; Miguel et al., 1995; Beer et al., 1998; Peeters et al., 2002). These papers describe the arborization in a qualitative manner about the type of the tree utilized, crop density. However few papers are found in literature that caracterize the microclimate quantitatively such as in a coffee and dwarf coconut sistem in Mococa, Brazil (Pezzopane et al., 2003), in an arborizated systems in Colômbia (Farfan-Valencia et al., 2003), in an agroflorestal system in Mexico (Barradas and Fanjul, 1986) and in an arborizated system with ‘bracatinga’ in Londrina, Brazil (Caramori et al., 1996). These works showed that the microclimate is strongly influenced by wind, soil type, water deficit vapor, temperature and solar radiation and those elements are dependent to the climate, the species utilized for arborization and the crop density.
 

             The objective of this work is is to verify the effect of 8 years old arborized systems on daily air maximum (TMAX) and minimum (TMIN) temperature for Coffea arabica in Mococa (21º28’S, 47º01’W, 665m).
 

Material and Methods

            Data of air temperature were collected at each 15 minutes and at 1.5 m inside the canopy for three different systems during 1.5 years: unshaded systems (without arborization) (UNS), arborized with dwarf coconut palm (Cocos nucifera L.) (PAL) with spacing of 8m x 8m, and arborized with rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis (Willd. ex A. Juss.) Müll. Arg.) (RUB) with spacing of 16m x16m in Mococa (21º28’S, 47º01’W, 665m), a region of subtropical climate and representative of the crop production zones of São Paulo state, Brazil. For all the systems data of net radiation and wind velocity were collected at each 15 minutes at 0.5m above the canopy, besides the data of the final yield treatments.
 

Results and discussion

            It was observed that the TMAX (Figure 1.A and B) were more affected than the TMIN (Figure 1.C and D). Comparing the arborized and the unshaded systems, the former presents an average decrease in TMAX up to 1.5°C for PAL and up to 2.0°C for RUB, mainly when air temperature is near to 38°C. The two systems did not show significant differences in relation to the minimum temperatures.

Figure 1. Relation between five days average values of absolute maximum temperatures (Tmax) for unshaded coffee and dwarf coconut palm (A) and rubber tree (B) and of absolute minimum temperatures (Tmin) for unshaded coffee and dwarf coconut palm (C) and rubber tree (D), during the period of 08/31/2006 to 12/31/2007.

            Those results were due to an average reduction in net radiation by 31% for PAL and 86% for RUB, besides wind velocity that was 50% lower for RUB in comparison to PAL. The plots yield in 2006 was approximately of 26, 29, 37 sacks.ha^-1 for UNS, PAL and RUB, respectively. These results show the effect of reduction in maximum temperatures as a result of the arborization system, as it was already demostrated by CARAMORI et al. (1996) – which makes the environment more suitable for Coffea arabica, once it is adapted to conditions of altitude tropical climate, demanding colder temperatures. Therefore, the arborization has become a tecnological option to yield increase in subtropical climates.
 

Conclusion

The arborizated systems decreased the maximum temperature up to 1.5ºC and  2.0°C  in dwarf coconut palm and rubber tree systems, respectively, and promoted the increase of yield.
 

References

BAGGIO, A.J.; CARAMORI, P.H.; ANDROCIOLI, A.; MONTOYA, L. Productivity of southern Brazilian coffee plantations shaded by different stockings of Grevillea robusta. Agroforestry Systems, Amsterdam, v. 37, n. 2, p.111-120, 1997.

BARRADAS, V.L.; FANJUL, L. Microclimatic characterization of shaded and open-grow coffee (Coffea arabica L.) plantations in Mexico. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, Amsterdam, v. 38, p. 101-112, 1986.

BEER, J.; MUSCHLER, R.; KASS, D.; SOMARRIBA, E. Shade management in coffee and cacao plantations. Agroforestry Systems, Amsterdam, v. 38, p. 139-164, 1998.

Caramori, P.H.; Androcioli Filho, A.; Leal, A.C. Coffee shade with Mimosa scabrella Benth. for frost protection in southern Brazil. Agroforestry Systems, Amsterdam, v. 33,  p. 205-214,  1996.

FARFAN-VALENCIA, F.; ARIAS-HERNANDEZ, J.J.; RIANOHERRERA, N.M. Deasarrollo de una metodologia para medir sombrio en sistemas agroflorestales com café. Cenicafé, Chinchina. 54, n.1, p. 24-34, 2003.

MIGUEL, A.E.; MATIELLO, J.B.; CAMARGO, A.P.; ALMEIDA, S.R.; GUIMARÃES, S.R. Efeitos da arborização do cafezal com Grevillea robusta nas temperaturas do ar e umidade do solo, Parte II. In: CONGRESSO BRASILEIRO DE PESQUISAS CAFEEIRAS, 21., Rio de Janeiro, 1995. Trabalhos apresentados... Rio de Janeiro: PROCAFE, 1995. p. 55-60.

PEETERS, L.Y.K.; SOTO-PINTO, L.; PERALES, H.; MONTOYA, G.; ISHIKI, M. Coffee production, timber, and firewood in traditional and Inga-shaded plantations in Southern Mexico.Agriculture, Ecossystems and Environment, Amsterdam, v.82, p. 1-13, 2002.

PEZZOPANE, J.R.M.; GALLO, P.B.; PEDRO JÚNIOR, M.J.; ORTOLANI, A.A. Caracterização microclimática em cultivo consorciado café/coqueiro-anão verde. Revista Brasileira de Agrometeorologia, Santa Maria, v. 11, n. 2, p. 293-302, 2003.

*Instituto Agronômico, Campinas, SP, BRAZIL, e-mail: mcamargo@iac.sp.gov.br

** Pólo APTA Nordeste Paulista, Mococa, SP, BRAZIL

*** Supported by FAPESP