The Growth Enhancement in Three Arabica Coffee Clones by Frequent Watering in Seedling Stage

Coffee cultivation in Indonesia generally only relies on rainfall as a source
of water. Drought that occurs in the dry season inhibits growth, reduces yields,
and even death of plants. Not all plants are equally resistant to drought conditions.
Drought-resistant coffee clones usually develop several resistance mechanisms,
including the formation of specific compounds to protect cells and tissues from
damage caused by drought stress. Therefore, the objective of this study was to
investigate the influence of watering interval on the seedling growth of three clones
of Arabica coffee. This study applied intervals of watering every two, four and
six days as first factor and three Arabica coffee clones as second factor, namely
Andungsari 2K, S 795, and Andungsari 1. The experimental design used a factorial
completely randomized design where every treatment combination had three
replications. This study on Arabica coffee nursery lasted for three months.
Results obtained in this study demonstrated that combination of watering every four
and six days on Andungsari 2K clone had the best values on several observed
variables. Number of stomata, leaf thickness, fresh root weight, and root dry
weight were larger for watering every six days on the Andungsari 2K clone,
meanwhile leaf number, stem diameter, fresh and dry weight of leaves were larger
for watering every four days on Andungsari 2K clone. This study showed that
there was an interaction between watering intervals and Arabica coffee clones on
plant growth. Treatment combination of watering every six and four days on
Andungsari 2K clone significantly affect number of stomata, fresh root weight,
and root dry weight especially for watering every six days on Andungsari 2K clone.