Potential of new Coffea arabica cultivars for renewal of Meloidogyne paranaensis infested crop

Abstract

Meloidogyne paranaensis is one of the most damaging species of root-knot nematode to coffee trees. The development of resistant cultivars is crucial to the continuity of cultivation in infested areas. Thus, the aims of this study were to assess the performance of F6:7 progenies derived from the Amphillo germplasm in an infested area and to validate the new Coffea arabica MGS Vereda and MGS Guaiçara cultivars. The Catuaí Amarelo IAC 62 cultivar was used as the susceptible standard, and IPR 100 as the resistance standard. The experiment was conducted in 2018 using a randomized complete block design with four replications and 15 plants per plot. Resistance related and agronomic traits were assessed over four years. The lowest population of M. paranaensis was observed in progenies 88, 44B, and 105 from MGS Guaiçara, MGS Vereda, and IPR 100 cultivars, respectively. The progenies with the lowest population of M. paranaensis, although resistant, were not productive. The new MGS Vereda cultivar stood out in terms of yield and early fruit ripening, with the highest proportion of cherry fruit at harvest and a low incidence of peaberry grain. The results suggest MGS Vereda cultivar’s potential for the renewal of coffee cultivations occurs in a rainfed system according to the environmental conditions of the experiment.