Technical Support Mission to OLAM coffee plantations in Lao PDR : 28th January to 7th February 2013
A visit of the four farms was made with the managers in charge. The report describes the observations on state of the four farms thanks to the information given by the managers and supervisors. Recommendations are made to improve some points, which relate to: - Improved weed control. The use of shade and legumes cover crop is suggested. - Some explanations about pruning techniques to justify the needed change. - A fertilization program for the coming years. In all farms, the percentage of weak coffee plants is very high, and it seems to be a consequence of planting with bent rooted seedlings. The state of the coffee production is quite low considering the age of coffee (4-years-old). Therefore, it is important that Olam manages its own nurseries. Two of the farms (Thevada and Khongtoun) are well located and in a very favourable area for growing quality Arabica coffee trees. On the other hand, the other two farms (Xekatam and Xepian) are in a drier area and coffee is grown on quite poor soils, mainly because the previous crops consisted of grasses and reeds. In both these farms, the soil nutrient levels are below the acceptable thresholds for coffee. There is need to drastically increase the organic matter and use of leguminous shade trees. In these farms, the use of irrigation is also strongly suggested to compensate for lack of rainfall. The last day, a summary of the observations and recommendations was reported to the director and all the staff.
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| Format: | monograph biblioteca |
| Language: | eng |
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CIRAD
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| Subjects: | H60 - Mauvaises herbes et désherbage, F01 - Culture des plantes, F04 - Fertilisation, |
| Online Access: | http://agritrop.cirad.fr/571158/ http://agritrop.cirad.fr/571158/1/document_571158.pdf |
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