The Economics of Producing Grafted Coffee Plants

Abstract

Eighty-five percent of the land planted with coffee in Kona is infested with the Kona coffee root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne konaensis. Nematodes even in low numbers are very damaging to coffee tree roots, and it is estimated that infested farms are losing about 60 percent of their yield potential. Nematicides are relatively ineffective in the soil conditions of Kona. CTAHR researchers have recommended use of a nematode-resistant rootstock known as Coffea dewevrei. The cost of producing field-ready grafted coffee nursery stock is calculated using an economic model of the production process. Understanding the cost of producing grafted plants will help producers determine whether it is more cost-effective to purchase grafted nursery stock or to produce their own grafted plants, or whether it is profitable to produce grafted coffee plants for sale to other coffee growers.