Research Article

Boron, Copper, and Zinc Affect the Productivity, Cup Quality, and Chemical Compounds in Coffee Beans

Table 6

Coloration index (CI, DO 425 nm), total titratable acidity (TTA, mL of NaOH 100 g−1), pH, electrical conductivity (EC, µS·cm−1·g−1), and leached potassium (KL, g·kg−1) of coffee beans of Coffea arabica treated with different forms of B, Cu, and Zn supply, in the crop season 2011/2012.

Crop season 2011/2012

Boron
TreatmentsCITTApHECKL
WB0.5149.415.7257.522.15
FS (control)0.7648.425.63 50.182.01
B0.7441.505.6356.772.27
B + Cu0.3740.525.6860.982.05
B + Zn0.6645.465.6958.831.86
B + Cu + Zn0.4150.405.7459.272.02
CV (%)31.8931.120.8613.4714.28
Copper
WCu0.5149.415.7257.522.15
FS (control)0.76 48.425.6350.182.01
Cu0.5059.295.6456.921.93
Cu + B0.3740.525.6860.982.05
Cu + Zn0.5048.425.7062.732.12
B + Cu + Zn0.4150.405.7459.272.02
CV (%)29.2531.611.2612.7914.15
Zinc
WZn0.5149.415.7157.522.15
FS (control)0.7648.425.6350.182.01
Zn0.5242.495.6558.292.36
Zn + B0.6645.465.6958.831.86
Zn + Cu0.5048.425.7062.732.12
B + Cu + Zn0.4150.405.7459.272.02
CV (%)31.2930.141.1715.8615.91

WB, WCu, and WZn: control treatments, without application of B, Cu, and Zn, respectively; FS; foliar spray with boric acid, copper sulphate, and zinc sulphate (0.4%); B: trunk injection of tablets containing B salts; Cu: trunk injection of tablets containing Cu salts; Zn: trunk injection of tablets containing Zn salts; B + Cu: trunk injection of tablets containing B and Cu salts; B + Zn: trunk injection of tablets containing B and Zn salts; Cu + Zn: trunk injection of tablets containing Cu and Zn salts; B + Cu + Zn: trunk injection of tablets containing B, Cu, and Zn salts; mean values are statistically different from those of the control treatment (FS) at the 10% significance level, according to Dunnett’s test; mean values are statistically different from those of the control treatment (WB-WCu-WZn) at the 10% significance level, according to Dunnett’s test.