Boutique Coffee Science talk about Coffee Fruit

Fruit for berries, also known as comb fruit. Elliptic, long 9~14 mm, green young fruit, mature red, purple. Each fruit generally has two seeds, also has one or three seeds, is semi-elliptical, has a longitudinal groove, called ventral groove. Fruit structure, exocarp by a thin layer of hard woody human cells, the outside scattered with stomata; mesocarp (i.e. pulp) is composed of several layers of polygonal large and lignified thin package, the most internal layers of cells were slightly compressed, cells can be seen containing a large number of fiber vascular bundles, endocarp also known as sheepskin (i.e. seed shell) is composed of stone cells a layer of cutin thin shell. Seed coat, also known as the silver skin, is the thin outer layer of the seed, seed coat color and thickness is one of the characteristics of the distinction between varieties, seed kernel, to remove the silver skin coffee beans, that is, the market called "commercial coffee beans," seeds containing two parts of the embryo, embryo at the base of the endosperm. The endosperm is dissected to reveal a white embryo with a pair of fleshy sunflower fan-shaped cotyledons.

1. fruit development

Coffee fruit development time is longer, the fruit from flowering to maturity time varies with species; small seed coffee needs 8~10 months (mature in October ~ December of the year); medium seed coffee needs 10~12 months (mature in November ~ May of the next year); large seed needs 12~13 months.

The fruit growth rate of Coffea arabica was the fastest 2~3 months after flowering. After 4 months, the volume was basically stable and the dry matter accumulation increased. Dry matter increased fastest at 5~6 months after anthesis. The fruit development of medium seed coffee accelerated at 3~4 months after anthesis, fastest at 4 ~6 months, and slowed down at 7 ~9 months. At this time, dry matter accumulated rapidly in fruit, and its volume increased slightly before fruit ripeness.

2. Rainfall has a great influence on fruit development, and climate conditions directly affect fruit development.

A month after flowering, in case of drought, young fruit often dry due to lack of water, resulting in low fruit rate. Fruit development period drought fruit small/early, wind (or strong wind) is easy to cause fruit drop, resulting in yield or failure.