COFFEE CULTIVATION GUIDE - Coffee Board of India

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9. Compost Preparation
Shade tree leaf litter, weeded materials, fallen twigs, green leaves, coffee skin,
cherry and parchment husk are the raw materials for the preparation of compost in the
estate level. In addition to these, coir pith, cow dung and domestic wastes can also be
used for the preparation of compost depending on their availability in the farm level.
The coffee effluent can be used for moistening the compost pits as well as to enrich
the quality of the compost. Earth worms can be used to degrade the coffee processing
wastes mixed with cow dung and domestic wastes. The compost should be applied to
the fields preferably during the post monsoon period for better efficiency. If compost
is applied during the summer months, the mineralization of the compost will be slow
and chances of losing the mineral content are more during the dry season.
COMPOST HEAPS
10.Nursery
For basket nursery one should use the polythene bags of the dimension 6 X 9
(b X h) inches of 150 gauges. If lower gauge bags are used, there is a chance that the
bags may break when soil is filled. Use of lower dimension backs severely hinders the
healthy development of roots. Further, 12 uniform holes (3 mm) at equidistance
should be made on the nursery bags to facilitate easy air circulation for the growing
seedlings as well as to allow the excess water to flow out. Stagnation of water in the
bags results in the rotting of seedlings.
A nursery mixture of 6 parts of sieved jungle soil( free from nematodes and other
pests), two parts of well rotted cattle manure or compost and one part of coarse river
sand (do not use sea sand as it contains sodium which is harmful to the seedlings)
should be prepared and mixed well to fill the nursery bags. If the jungle soils are not
available, it can be substituted with sieved surface soil mixed with compost or vermin
compost. Prior to planting, the nursery bags should be gently watered and a vertical
hole of about 5 cm deep should be made in the soil at the centre of the bags. The
coffee seedlings at button stage are transplanted into the nursery bags. Seedlings
should not be planted deep in the nursery bags and after planting, the seedlings should
be watered daily in the morning times. Nursery should be cleaned off from weeds and
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