Calcium and Potassium Nutrition Increases the Water Use Efficiency in Coffee: A Promising Strategy to Adapt to Climate Change

• Main Authors: Victor Hugo Ramírez-Builes, Jürgen Küsters
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-05-01
• Series: Hydrology
• Subjects: climate variability; climate change; WUE; calcium; potassium
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5338/8/2/75

Coffee (<i>Coffea</i> spp.) represents one of the most important sources of income and goods for the agricultural sector in Central America, Colombia, and the Caribbean region. The sustainability of coffee production at the global and regional scale is under threat by climate change, with a major risk of losing near to 50% of today’s suitable area for coffee by 2050. Rain-fed coffee production dominates in the region, and under increasing climate variability and climate change impacts, these production areas are under threat due to air temperature increase and changes in rainfall patterns and volumes. Identification, evaluation, and implementation of adaptation strategies for growers to cope with climate variability and change impacts are relevant and high priority. Incremental adaptation strategies, including proper soil and water management, contribute to improved water use efficiency (WUE) and should be the first line of action to adapt the coffee crop to the changing growing conditions. This research’s objective was to evaluate at field level over five years the influence of fertilization with calcium (Ca⁺²) and potassium (K⁺) on WUE in two coffee arabica varieties: cv. Castillo and cv. Caturra. Castillo has resistance against coffee leaf rust (CLR) (<i>Hemileia vastatrix</i> Verkeley and Brome), while Caturra is not CLR-resistant. WUE was influenced by yield changes during the years by climate variability due to El Niño–ENSO conditions and CLR incidence. Application of Ca⁺² and K⁺ improved the WUE under such variable conditions. The highest WUE values were obtained with an application of 100 kg CaO ha⁻¹ year⁻¹ and between 180 to 230 kg K2O ha⁻¹ year⁻¹. The results indicate that adequate nutrition with Ca⁺² and K⁺ can improve WUE in the long-term, even underwater deficit conditions and after the substantial incidence. Hence, an optimum application of Ca⁺² and K⁺ in rain-fed coffee plantations can be regarded as an effective strategy to adapt to climate variability and climate change.