In addition, and in similar fashion to potassium, the calcium-based fertilizer, Nitrabor has a marked effect on plant health, reducing the incidence of brown eye spot.
Minimizing brown eye spot (cercospora coffeicola) in coffee
Brown eye spot in is a destructive fungal disease in the coffee crop. It will usually transfer from the leaves to the coffee berries.
The crop is susceptible to brown eye spot throughout all development stages. The leaf starts to develop small yellow eye-like spots that slowly expand up to 5 mm in size. Later, the outer portion of the spot is brown, while the center becomes gray/white. Infested coffee beans become dried, and have an almost circular scar on the pulp, which makes de-pulping difficult. The coffee bean quality naturally decreases.
Crop Nutrition and Brown Eye Spot
Potassium
In Ecuadorian trials, Potassium is used to improve levels of the element in leaf tissue, which has been shown to minimize brown eye spot, Cercospora coffeicola, which can defoliate trees and lead to beans that are unmarketable and impossible to pulp.
Calcium
Boron
Pre-harvest sprays of boron can reduce the impact of a range of fungal diseases on the processed coffee bean – with or without the added disinfection provided by using sodium hypochloride.
