EVALUATION OF THE AGRONOMIC POTENTIAL OF THE CONILON COFFEE VARIETY ‘ES-8152’

Abstract

For family farming, the use of seminal varieties is important due to the lower cost of seedlings and greater hardiness compared to clonal crops. The main seminal variety of Conilon coffee currently recommended in Brazil is 'ES8152', known as ‘Conquista’. The objective of this study was to evaluate agronomic parameters of the Conquista variety based on production, response to diseases, and post-harvest yield, comparing it with clones A1, LB1, V8, and V12. The experiment was conducted at the Bananal do Norte Experimental Farm, part of Incaper. A randomized complete block design with three replications, five treatments, and two years of evaluation (2022 and 2023) was used. The treatments included the Conquista variety, with 80 plants per plot, and clones A1, LB1, V12, and V8 with six plants per plot. An analysis of variance was conducted to test the effect of treatments, years, and the interaction between them, followed by the Student-Newman-Keuls test for treatments and interaction, and a t-test for the effect of years. The Conquista variety exhibitsshowed a phenotypic pattern between clones A1 and LB1, and V8 and V12. No significant difference was observed between the Conquista variety and the clones regarding resistance to coffee leaf rust. The variety represents a viable alternative for family-based coffee growers due to its hardiness, potential for producing superior quality coffees, and resistance to pests and diseases.