Brazilian researchers mix coffee varieties to address climate change challenge

Under a baking sun, agronomist Oliveiro Guerreiro Filho meandered through a hodgepodge of coffee plants at the Campinas Agronomy Institute (IAC), where, unlike the uniform rows on Brazil’s sprawling coffee farms, each small group is as different from the next.

The collection of plants forms a menagerie of coffee species - some squat, others soaring - and includes 15 rarer and non-commercial breeds like racemosa, liberica and stenophylla, the genes of which investigators at the IAC's Alcides Carvalho Coffee Center hope will help shore up future supplies of arabica coffee.

Scientists and researchers warn that arabica crops will be greatly affected by the ravages of a changing climate as carbon emissions grow, with top-producing regions in countries like Brazil - the world’s top coffee grower - expected to see declining output.

A report from bank Rabobank found that climate change could result in 20% of current arabica growing areas globally being classified as unsuitable for coffee crops by 2050, which would lead to lower yields.

Researchers at the IAC count on their assortment of species for help to create new varieties of mostly arabica coffee plants by crossing existing varieties’ genes with the genetic material of other breeds that show heat and drought-tolerant qualities.

The investigations are anything but quick, requiring decades of research. Scientists work on crossbreeding and producing saplings, before exposing different varieties to tough conditions - like drought - so researchers can examine their performance and identify the most successful plants, Guerreiro Filho said.

Hybrid varieties are also investigated for increased resistance to pests and diseases, as well as improved quality. Arabica crossed with liberica has proven to be resistant to coffee rust, a fungal infection, while arabica bred with racemosa does better against certain moth larvae, Guerreiro Filho said.

Not all outings with the ICA’s attempts to create hybrids are success stories. Efforts working with stenophylla are more difficult because of the species' genetic barrier and lower productivity, he said.

Liberica's hardiness in the face of hotter and drier conditions is winning support from producers far beyond Brazil’s borders. Farmers in Indonesia and Malaysia who grow small quantities of liberica coffee beans said their plants do well in drought conditions.

In Brazil, programs searching for new genes resistant to diseases, pests, and climate challenges in species like liberica and racemosa - as well as kapakata and eugenioides - are vital to preserving arabica's future, according to Brazilian state research agency Embrapa's coffee unit.

Production: Alexandre Meneghini, Sergio Queiroz, Liamar Ramos/Reuters