Efecto de potasio en la calidad y productividad de Coffea arábica var. Geisha aplicada mediante fertirriego en la Hacienda la Papaya, provincia de Loja

Abstract

This research aims to determine the effect of potassium application via fertigation on the productivity and organoleptic quality of Geisha coffee at Hacienda la Papaya, located in the Canton of Saraguro, Province of Loja. A total of 600 three-year-old coffee plants were used in an area of 1500 m². Three treatments were applied: a control (T1), a 40% increase in potassium (T2), and a 10% reduction in potassium (T3), administered via fertigation over three months, from flowering to maturity, under a randomized block design. The results indicated that treatment T2 had a greater fruit size (16.85 g), while treatment T3 was significantly smaller fruit size (15.89 mm). In terms of berry weight, treatment T2 (1.89 g) was significantly higher compared to treatment T1 (1.71 g) and treatment T3 (1.66 g). However, regarding organoleptic quality, although treatment T1 had the highest score of 88.43, there were no statistically significant differences between the treatments despite achieving excellent scores in all three samples, according to the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA). In conclusion, although the increase in potassium in T2 improved fruit size and weight, no significant impact was observed on the sensory quality of the brewed coffee, suggesting that potassium influenced the physical aspects of the fruit more than its organoleptic quality.

Keywords: Quality, fertilization, fertigation, sampling, production.