Florida researchers with UF/IFAS are conducting research into coffee to see if it’s a viable alternative crop.
Americans love their coffee, and researchers with UF/IFAS are currently undertaking research into coffee as an alternative crop to find out if it’s a viable option for Florida growers. A UF/IFAS blog shared the research so far. See the details below.
Details on Research Into Coffee
The research into coffee is being led by University of Florida researcher Felipe Ferrao. The article shared that “For the past year, scientists have grown about 150 coffee plants in a greenhouse on UF’s Gainesville campus, and the plants are about to be exposed to Florida’s elements.” The plants were obtained from “a Puerto Rican collaborator, Puerto Rico Coffee Roasters, because the territory is one of the few U.S. locations that has found success growing the plants.”
“It’s a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer we’re seeking in this first phase. Determining what will grow is the first step to identifying the plants most adaptable to Florida’s conditions,” Ferrao said in the article.
The coffee plants will be split between three locations: “one near Gainesville, another at the UF/IFAS Indian River Research and Education Center (IRREC) in Fort Pierce, and the final at the UF/IFAS Tropical Research and Education Center (TREC) in Homestead,“ according to the article. They will be planted soon, and those in North Florida will be planted in “containers under high tunnels, in the hopes that the young plants can be protected from any potential freezing temperatures. Plants in the Central and South Florida locations will be in the ground in open fields.”
“As an exploratory analysis, we should see some level of success or failure in each field by the end of this year. “Our follow-up questions will be to understand the behavior of the plant in these new conditions; then the flavor of what we can grow here in Florida; and finally, maybe most importantly, whether it can be profitable as a crop,” Ferrao explained.
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