Abstract:
The primary goal of plant breeding is to improve yield, quality and disease resistance.
However, majority of reported work on coffee breeding primarily concerns agronomical
improvement that directly impinges on either coffee quality or yields. The main objective of
this study was to compare the agronomic traits of new Arabica coffee varieties with existing
commercial cultivars in Kenya. Field recording of cherry yield and disease infection was done
during the cropping seasons of 2007 and 2008. Artificial inoculation for both Coffee Berry
Disease (CBD) and Coffee Leaf Rust (CLR) were done in respective screening laboratories
using Completely Randomized Design (CRD). Significant variations in yield and disease
resistance were observed among the genotypes. There were significant negative correlations
between disease scores (both CBD and CLR) and cherry yield.
