Natural mutation of the Bourbon variety

GENETIC DESCRIPTION

Bourbon-Typica Group (Bourbon-related)

HISTORY

Caturra is a natural mutation of the Bourbon variety. It was discovered on a plantation in the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil sometime between 1915 and 1918.

Caturra has a single-gene mutation that causes the plant to grow smaller (called dwarfism). Its name derives from the Guarani word meaning „small.” It is also called „Nanico.” After Caturra’s discovery, selections were made by the Instituto Agronomico (IAC) of Sao Paulo State in Campinas, Brazil, starting in 1937. Breeders were interested in Caturra’s small size, which allows plants to be placed closer together, and its closely spaced secondary branches, which enable it to produce more fruit in the same space.

The selection process for Caturra was called mass selection, meaning that a group of individuals are selected based on their superior performance, seed from these plants is bulked to form a new generation, and then the process is repeated. The variety was never officially released in Brazil, but has become common in Central America.

It was introduced in Guatemala in the 1940s, but widespread commercial adoption didn’t happen for another three decades. From Guatemala, it was introduced to Costa Rica, Honduras, and Panama. Today, it is one of the most economically important coffees in Central America, to the extent that it is often used as a “benchmark” against which new cultivars are tested. In Colombia, Caturra was thought to represent nearly half of the country’s production until a government-sponsored program beginning in 2008 incentivised renovation of over three billion coffee trees with the leaf-rust resistant Castillo variety (which has Caturra parentage).

Caturra led in part to the intensification of coffee cultivation through higher density planting, often in full sun, that took place in the region in the second half of the 20th century.

Caturra is also known for being one of the parents the so-called “Catimor” family of cultivars. Various lines of the coffee-leaf-rust-resistant Timor Hybrid were crossed with Caturra to produce a dwarf plant with rust resistance. Examples of Catimor varieties include: Costa Rica 95, Catisic, Lempira, and IHCAFE 90.

STATURE

Dwarf/Compact

LEAF TIP COLOR

Green

BEAN SIZE

Average

COFFEE LEAF RUST

Susceptible

COFFEE BERRY DISEASE (CBD)

Susceptible

NEMATODES

Susceptible

Source: World Coffee Research

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At least from the 1950s onward, Caturra was a highly common cultivar across Colombia, introduced because of its productivity over traditional Typica or Bourbon. Caturra, however, while granting more yields, is equally susceptible to coffee leaf rust and other diseases.

Released in 2005, Castillo, which takes its name from researcher Jaime Castillo and is actually trademarked by Cenicafe, is an improvement of the Colombia variety and has become the most planted variety in Colombia.

Developed over five generations by Cenicafe between 1968 and 1982, the Colombia variety (Variedad Colombia) was the result of successful hybridization of Caturra with the Timor Hybrid. Colombia was developed in advance of Colombia’s first coffee leaf rust outbreak, which hit the country in 1983. Although the new cultivar helped the country’s farmers weather the crisis, Cenicafe suspected that other outbreaks and new diseases were just around the corner. They continued to work towards improvements, and the new arrival of Coffee Berry Disease (CBD) to the country in the early 2000s hastened research methods. The result of this painstaking effort has been the Tabi and the Castillo cultivars.

The Castillo variety was officially given to coffee growers in May 2005 and is the flag of the program “Colombia sin Roya” (Colombia without Rust) implemented by the FNC. The program is aimed at recovering and renewing the production of high quality coffee in the country.

Cenicafe has also developed sub-cultivars from Castillo that bear the added benefit of being particularly adapted to specific agronomic and climatic differences of various regions within the country. 7 cultivars have been developed from Castillo so far, each retaining the main characteristics of the progeny from which they were obtained (Caturra for cup quality and its small size and Timor Hybrid for resistance to coffee leaf rust) and adding one or more new characteristics in each variation for adaptability to particular climates around Colombia. Those cultivars are: Castillo Naranjal, La Trinidad, El Rosario, Pueblo Bello, Santa Barbara, El Tambo and Paraguaicito.

The main characteristics of Castillo and its sub cultivars are higher yield, resistance to leaf rust and other diseases and a ‘dwarfed’ tree that can be planted in high density, thus increasing yields per hectare. The fruits of Castillo plants are also slightly larger and display more resistance to pests and insects such as the coffee borer beetle (broca), which is very common in Latin America.

Source: Mercanta

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Mundo Novo x Caturra

GENETIC DESCRIPTION

Bourbon-Typica Group (Typica- and Bourbon-related)

HISTORY

A cross between highly productive Mundo Novo and compact Caturra, made by the Instituto Agronomico (IAC) of Sao Paulo State in Campinas, Brazil. The plant is highly productive compared to Bourbon, in part because of its small size, which allows plants to be closely spaced; it can be planted at nearly double the density. The plant’s shape makes it relatively easy apply pest and disease treatments. It is mainly characterized by great vigor and its low height; it is less compact than Caturra. It is highly susceptible to coffee leaf rust.

Catuaí derives from the Guarani multo mom, meaning “very good.” Today, it is considered to have good but not great cup quality. There are yellow-fruited and red-fruited types, and have since been many selections in different countries. The cultivar was created in 1949 from a crossing of yellow Caturra and Mundo Novo, and initially called H-2077.

The variety was released in Brazil 1972 after pedigree selection (selection of individual plants through successive generations) and is in wide cultivation there. In Brazil, there are multiple lines of Catuai available; some are notable for their high productivity. The Catuaí lines transferred to Central America seem to be less productive; studies in Honduras and Costa Rica found no significant differences in productivity have been observed between Caturra and Catuaí.

It was first introduced in Honduras in 1979, where it was tested by Instituto Hondureño del Café (IHCAFÉ). It was released commercially in 1983, after IHCAFÉ selected two lines for planting. In Honduras today, Catui accounts for nearly half of the Arabica coffee in cultivation. Researchers at IHCAFÉ are actively pursuing breeding with Catuai, including creating hybrid crosses between Catuai and Timor Hybrid lines.

It is also economically important in Costa Rica, where a yellow-fruiting Catuai was introduced in 1985, whose descendants have spread widely through the country. It was introduced into Guatemala in 1970; currently about 20% of the country’s production is Catuai. It has a negligible presence in other Central American countries.

Catuai, whose small stature allows it to be planted densely and harvested more efficiently, led in part to the intensification of full-sun coffee cultivation in Central America in the 1970s and 1980s.

A similar variety called Garnica was developed by the Mexican Coffee Institute (INMECAFÉ) in 1960-61, through the crossing of Mundo Novo with Caturra Amarillo. Adaptation trials were established in 1978-79, but INMECAFÉ was dissolved in 1989 before pedigree selections were completed. Further selections were made by private producers in Mexico, but the variety is difficult to trace.

STATURE

Dwarf/Compact

LEAF TIP COLOR

Green

BEAN SIZE

Average

COFFEE LEAF RUST

Susceptible

COFFEE BERRY DISEASE (CBD)

Susceptible

NEMATODES

Susceptible

Source: World Coffee Research

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Bourbon-like genetic background.

GENETIC DESCRIPTION

Bourbon-Typica Group (Bourbon-related)

Bourbon is the most famous of the Bourbon-descended varieties. It is a tall variety characterized by relatively low production, susceptibility to the major diseases, and excellent cup quality.

French missionaries introduced Bourbon from Yemen to Bourbon Island (now La Réunion)—giving it the name it has today—in the early 1700s. Until the mid-19th century, Bourbon did not leave the island. But beginning in the mid-1800s, the variety spread to new parts of the world as the missionaries moved to establish footholds in Africa and the Americas.

The Bourbon variety was introduced to Brazil around 1860, and from there rapidly spread north into other parts of South and Central America, where it is still cultivated today. Here it became mixed with other Bourbon-related varieties, introduced from India as well as Ethiopian landraces. Nowadays, there are many Bourbon-like varieties found in East Africa, but none exactly match the distinct Bourbon variety that can be found in Latin America.

Today in Latin America, Bourbon itself has largely been replaced by varieties that descend from it (notably including Caturra, Catuai, and Mundo Novo), although Bourbon itself it is still cultivated in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Peru.

Modern cultivars of coffee are derived from two base populations – known as Typica/Típica and Bourbon – both of which are ascensions of Yemen and which were spread worldwide in the eighteenth century.

Around the year 1715, a few plants of Arabica were introduced by the French to the island we know today as Reunion (at that time known as Ile Bourbon) in the Indian Ocean. These Typica trees mutated on the island, giving rise to the variety that became known as Bourbon, which is more productive than its ancestor. This sole characteristic made the new variety a valuable transplant throughout Brazil (where it was taken in the late 18th century) and other parts of Central and South America, as well as on the African continent, particularly in Rwanda.

Bourbon was introduced to Brazil in the 1860s (some accounts have it as early as 1852) to make up for the supply loss caused by a coffee leaf rust outbreak in Java and is part of the reason Brazil rose to become one of the world’s coffee superproducers from that time onward.

Despite the variety’s susceptibility to rust, breeders around the world largely exploited the above mentioned varieties resulting in Typica and Bourbon-derived cultivars. Both produce exceptional cup profiles but display similar agronomic behaviours characterised by high susceptibility to many pests and low adaptability.

Bourbon grows best at heights of 1,100 to 2,000 metres above sea level. It produces a similar quality of coffee as does the Typica variety but normally yields 20% to 30% more coffee. It is, however, considered to be a variety with low productivity when compared to other common coffee plants such as the Bourbon-derived varieties Caturra, Catuaí and Pacas.

Bourbon have large, wide leaves with wavy edges and tend to have more secondary branches in comparison with other coffee trees. The berries are rather small and very thick, and can be red, yellow or pink depending on the sub-variety. Red, yellow and pink (sometimes known as orange) Bourbon are varieties with natural mutation of one recessive gene

Bourbon is valued for its complex acidity and wonderful balance. It often has a sweet, caramel quality and nice and crisp acidity but can present quite distinct flavours depending on where it is planted. El Salvador Bourbons tend to display butter, toffee, and fresh pastry; Rwandan types tend to have a punchier, fruity quality.

Yellow Bourbon

Believed to be a ‘natural’ mutation of Red Bourbon first found in Brazil in the 1930s. Read more on the history here.

Orange Bourbon

Another ‘natural’ mutation of Red Bourbon first found and developed in El Salvador. The cherries of this plant often are peachy/pink, thus it is sometimes called ‘Pink’ Bourbon.

STATURE

Tall

LEAF TIP COLOR

Green

BEAN SIZE

Average

QUALITY POTENTIAL AT HIGH ALTITUDE

Very Good

YIELD POTENTIAL

Medium

COFFEE LEAF RUST

Susceptible

COFFEE BERRY DISEASE (CBD)

Susceptible

NEMATODES

Susceptible

Source: World Coffee Research / Mercanta

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(Timor Hybrid 832/1 x Caturra) x Pacamara

GENETIC DESCRIPTION

Introgressed (Catimor)

HISTORY

Anacafe 14 is supposed to have originated from a natural cross between a Catimor variety (Timor Hybrid 832/1 x Caturra) with Pacamara around 1980, in the Department of Chiquimula, Guatemala. It was discovered by farmer Francisco Manchamé. After several cycles of mass selection, in which a group of individual plants are selected based on their superior performance, and then seed from these plants is bulked to form a new generation. and genealogical selection by the National Coffee Association of Guatemala (ANACAFÉ), it was released as a commercial variety in 2014.

In 1981, Mr. Francisco Manchamé, a coffee producer farming in Camotán, Chiquimula, established a small plantation of Catimor near Pacamara trees. Spontaneously, by means of the natural hybridization, a plant with characteristics of high vigorosity, very productive and a large cherry was obtained. After several selection cycles that took more than 30 years, the Anacafé-14 variety was completed, which in addition to the aforementioned characteristics, has resistance to rust, drought tolerance and good cup quality.

The natural crossing that gave rise to this variety occurred in the village of El Tesoro, on the Bellas Flores de Oriente Estate, property of Mr. Francisco Manchamé. When the producer observed the new, outstanding characteristics of the plant in 1984, he began harvesting the best cherries and established a new plot solely composed of the new plants. This first plantation gave rise to the F1 Generation.  

In 2005, during a visit to one of the plots on an estate owned by Mr. Noé Guerra, a technical advisor from Anacafe Region VII (Zacapa and Chiquimula) detected the new plants, which had been shared by Mr. Manchamé, and aware of the genetic potential, initiated a project to technically validate the characteristics of the new trees. After nine years of research consistently found valuable characteristics such as rust resistance, drought tolerance, excellent vegetative vigor and high productivity, the variety was released generally to the public.

The variety Anacafé-14, as it has been called, is quite short, has abundant branches and has fruits that are elliptical in form form and larger in relation to the standard coffee cherry.  Anacafe is currently carrying out adaptability studies in other coffee growing areas in the country.

For more background on the history of the Catimor group of coffees, see T8667.

STATURE

Dwarf/Compact

LEAF TIP COLOR

Green

BEAN SIZE

Very Large

QUALITY POTENTIAL AT HIGH ALTITUDE

Good

YIELD POTENTIAL

High

COFFEE LEAF RUST

Resistant

COFFEE BERRY DISEASE (CBD)

Susceptible

NEMATODES

Susceptible

Source: World Coffee Research / Mercanta

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