{ "id": "planting-density-and-layout", "url": "https://coffearium.org/entries/planting-density-and-layout/", "license": "CC-BY-4.0", "title": "Planting density and layout", "summary": "How many coffee plants go on a hectare, how they are arranged and with how many stems, and why denser planting raises the crop per hectare while each plant bears less.", "domain": "farm-management", "kind": "Practice", "stage": "farm", "topics": [ "science" ], "topicSections": {}, "lang": "en", "status": "verified", "reviewer": "Coffearium verification pass", "lastVerified": "2026-10-23T00:00:00.000Z", "updated": "2026-10-23T00:00:00.000Z", "added": "2026-10-23T00:00:00.000Z", "brief": [ "Plants per hectare equal 10,000 divided by the area per plant in m²; 3 × 1 m gives about 3,333 plants (our calculation).11", "Compact varieties such as Caturra allow closer planting than tall ones; plants trained to several stems are set out at lower densities.1,12,14", "A 2007 review cites evidence for an optimum of about 5,000 trees per hectare for short arabica cultivars and at most 4,000 for conilon.1", "Closer planting usually lowers the yield of each plant but raises the yield per hectare, at least in the first harvests.1,8", "Robusta farms surveyed in Vietnam were planted at 1,000–1,100 plants per hectare; those in Indonesia at 2,000–2,500.10" ], "quickFacts": [ { "label": "Short arabica optimum (2007 review)", "value": "≈5,000 trees/ha (e.g. Caturra, Catimor)" }, { "label": "Conilon optimum (2007 review)", "value": "≤4,000 plants/ha; ≈10,000–14,000 stems/ha" }, { "label": "Robusta farms, Vietnam", "value": "1,000–1,100 plants/ha" }, { "label": "Highest yields in trials", "value": "10,000 plants/ha (Colombia); ≈15,000 (Brazil)" } ], "aka": [ "Planting density", "Coffee spacing", "Plant spacing", "Plant population", "Adensado" ], "linkTerms": [ "planting density", "plant density", "plant spacing", "planting distance", "plants per hectare", "trees per hectare", "stems per hectare", "high-density planting", "dense planting", "contour planting", "hedgerow", "multi-stem" ], "related": [ "site-selection-and-climate", "shade-and-agroforestry", "germination-and-seedlings", "branching-and-fruiting-wood", "pruning-and-renovation", "coffee-yields", "soils-for-coffee", "overbearing-and-dieback", "coffea-arabica", "coffea-canephora", "arabica-varieties", "coffee-leaf-rust", "coffee-berry-borer" ], "contested": [ "Density for tall varieties under shade in Colombia: an earlier Colombian recommendation (Arcila et al.), as cited in a 2016 Cenicafé trial, set a maximum of 2,500 plants per hectare4; that trial with the tall variety Tabi under shade found the highest yields at 5,000 plants per hectare, the densest it tested, at three sites.4", "Pests and diseases at high density: a 2007 review states that high planting density may increase pest and pathogen attack1; a 2021 comparison of robusta fields in Uganda found mixed effects – no link with leaf rust, less red blister disease and more black coffee twig borer under close spacing, and more coffee berry borer and leaf miners under wide spacing, but each spacing was a different field of a different age.11" ], "corrections": [ { "date": "2026-10-23T00:00:00.000Z", "change": "Planting densities from the World Coffee Research catalogue (Caturra 5,000–6,000, Bourbon 3,000–4,000, SL28 1,000–2,000, Ruiru 11 2,000–3,000 plants/ha) removed from the brief, quick facts, text, table and chart; WCR is now cited only for qualitative comparisons, and the Ruiru 11 page was dropped as a source.", "reason": "The catalogue's density classes are Tier B (not WCR trial results) and no second source was found; the SL28 page also lists 1,000–2,000 as single-stem while its own scale assigns that class to multiple-stem pruning." }, { "date": "2026-10-23T00:00:00.000Z", "change": "Uganda yields reframed: estimated, not harvested; the paper's 4.80 t/ha at 3 × 3 m does not match its own yield per tree times plant population (about 2.6 t/ha, our calculation); the spacings were different fields of different ages.", "reason": "Internal inconsistency and confounding in Sseremba et al. 2021 (Table 8 and field descriptions)." }, { "date": "2026-10-23T00:00:00.000Z", "change": "IAPAR 59 trial no longer placed in Paraná; yield given as depulped beans.", "reason": "Braccini et al. 2008 do not name the trial site (only the authors' affiliations are in Paraná) and report yield as depulped coffee beans." } ], "sources": [ { "id": "s1", "title": "Ecophysiology of coffee growth and production", "authors": "DaMatta, F. M.; Ronchi, C. P.; Maestri, M.; Barros, R. S.", "year": 2007, "publisher": "Brazilian Journal of Plant Physiology 19(4), 485–510", "url": "https://scielo.br/j/bjpp/a/xSBXnvrDDczyDbBtzspGs3v", "doi": "10.1590/S1677-04202007000400014", "tier": "A", "quote": "some evidence suggests an optimal planting density of about 5,000 trees", "quotes": [], "accessed": "2026-10-23T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s2", "title": "Renovación y administración de los cafetales para estabilizar la producción de la finca", "authors": "Arcila Pulgarín, J.", "year": 2007, "publisher": "In: Arcila Pulgarín, J. et al. (eds), Sistemas de producción de café en Colombia, Cenicafé, ch. 7", "url": "https://www.cenicafe.org/es/documents/LibroSistemasProduccionCapitulo7.pdf", "tier": "A", "tierNote": "Cenicafé (Colombia’s national coffee research centre) is A for its own research publications.", "quote": "sería a los 5 años para un lote con 10.000 plantas/ha", "quotes": [], "accessed": "2026-10-23T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s3", "title": "Densidad de siembra del café variedad Castillo® en sistemas agroforestales, en el departamento de Santander-Colombia", "authors": "Farfán Valencia, F.; Sánchez Arciniegas, P. M.", "year": 2016, "publisher": "Revista Cenicafé 67(1), 55–62", "url": "https://biblioteca.cenicafe.org/jspui/bitstream/10778/678/1/arc067%2801%2955-62.pdf", "tier": "A", "tierNote": "Cenicafé (Colombia’s national coffee research centre) is A for its own research publications.", "quote": "la densidad de siembra del café con la que se obtuvo la mayor producción fue de 10.000 plantas/ha", "quotes": [], "accessed": "2026-10-23T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s4", "title": "Densidad de siembra de Coffea arabica variedad Tabi en sistemas agroforestales, en tres zonas cafeteras de Colombia", "authors": "Farfán V., F.; Rendón S., J. R.; Menza F., H. D.", "year": 2016, "publisher": "Revista Cenicafé 67(2), 52–57", "url": "https://www.cenicafe.org/es/publications/3.Densidad.pdf", "tier": "A", "tierNote": "Cenicafé (Colombia’s national coffee research centre) is A for its own research publications. Yields for two sites differ between the text and Table 3 of the paper; we use no yields from it.", "quote": "La densidad de siembra del café con la que se obtiene la máxima producción es de 5.000 plantas/ha", "quotes": [], "accessed": "2026-10-23T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s5", "title": "Producción de cafetales establecidos con una y dos plantas por sitio", "authors": "Mestre-Mestre, A.; Salazar-Arias, J. N.", "year": 1995, "publisher": "Cenicafé, Avances Técnicos No. 213", "url": "https://biblioteca.cenicafe.org/jspui/bitstream/10778/1070/1/avt0213.pdf", "tier": "A", "tierNote": "Cenicafé (Colombia’s national coffee research centre) is A for its own research publications.", "quote": "se obtienen producciones similares a la de una planta por sitio, sembrada a la distancia de 1,00 x 1,00 m", "quotes": [], "accessed": "2026-10-23T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s6", "title": "Grain yield and coffee bean quality in response to population density", "authors": "Braccini, A. L.; Scapim, C. A.; Lana, M. C.; Vidigal Filho, P. S.; Albrecht, L. P.; Barreto, R. R.; Rodovalho, M. A.", "year": 2008, "publisher": "Revista Ceres 55(6), 489–496", "url": "https://ojs.ceres.ufv.br/ceres/article/download/3375/1265/5033", "tier": "A", "quote": "Four years old coffee plants, cultivar IAPAR 59, were evaluated using five plant densities in two crop years.", "quotes": [], "accessed": "2026-10-23T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s7", "title": "Influência da densidade de plantio e sistema de podas na produção de café", "authors": "Toledo, S. V. de; Barros, I. de", "year": 1999, "publisher": "Pesquisa Agropecuária Brasileira 34(8), 1379–1384", "url": "https://apct.sede.embrapa.br/pab/article/download/5365/2557/19493", "tier": "A", "quote": "altas densidades de plantio apresentaram elevadas produções nas primeiras safras", "quotes": [], "accessed": "2026-10-23T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s8", "title": "Yield of robusta coffee in different spatial arrangements", "authors": "Espindula, M. C.; Rocha, L. B.; Schmidt, R.; Rocha, R. B.; Dias, J. R. M.; Bravin, M. P.; Partelli, F. L.", "year": 2021, "publisher": "Pesquisa Agropecuária Brasileira 56, e02516", "url": "https://apct.sede.embrapa.br/pab/en/article/download/27057/14968/129324", "doi": "10.1590/S1678-3921.pab2021.v56.27057", "tier": "A", "tierNote": "Volume dated 2021, published May 2022.", "quote": "The number of stems should not exceed four, to avoid their tipping during years of high production.", "quotes": [], "accessed": "2026-10-23T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s9", "title": "Influence of tree training and plant density on yields of an improved cultivar of Coffea arabica", "authors": "Njoroge, J. M.; Kimemia, J. K.", "year": 1994, "publisher": "Experimental Agriculture 30(1), 89–94", "url": "https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/experimental-agriculture/article/abs/influence-of-tree-training-and-plant-density-on-yields-of-an-improved-cultivar-of-coffea-arabica/DB1E35ABA1E2A0F4EA852FBFCD1BEB72", "doi": "10.1017/S0014479700023887", "tier": "A", "quote": "Training tree growth in the two stem system significantly depressed yields from the first two crops at all sites,", "quotes": [], "abstractOnly": true, "accessed": "2026-10-23T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s10", "title": "Sustainable Production of Robusta Coffee under a Changing Climate: A 10-Year Monitoring of Fertilizer Management in Coffee Farms in Vietnam and Indonesia", "authors": "Byrareddy, V.; Kouadio, L.; Mushtaq, S.; Stone, R.", "year": 2019, "publisher": "Agronomy 9(9), 499", "url": "https://research.usq.edu.au/download/33a133510430210774c7d0e66f9fe5fa08a3178e0bc1d1d6baf84e465af15b41/1800932/agronomy-09-00499.pdf", "doi": "10.3390/agronomy9090499", "tier": "A", "quote": "The planting density ranged from 1000 to 1100 plants ha", "quotes": [], "accessed": "2026-10-23T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s11", "title": "High Robusta coffee plant density is associated with better yield potential at mixed responses for growth robustness, pests and diseases: which way for a farmer?", "authors": "Sseremba, G.; Kagezi, G. H.; Kobusinge, J.; Musoli, P.; Akodi, D.; Olango, N.; Kucel, P.; Chemutai, J.; Mulindwa, J.; Arinaitwe, G.", "year": 2021, "publisher": "Australian Journal of Crop Science 15(4), 494–503", "url": "https://www.cropj.com/sermba_15_4_2021_494_503.pdf", "doi": "10.21475/ajcs.21.15.04.p2676", "tier": "A", "quote": "Close spacing produced a higher aYH (5.82 t cc/ha) than wide spacing (4.80 t cc/ha).", "quotes": [], "accessed": "2026-10-23T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s12", "title": "Caturra", "authors": "World Coffee Research", "publisher": "World Coffee Research, Arabica Coffee Varieties catalogue", "url": "https://varieties.worldcoffeeresearch.org/varieties/caturra", "tier": "B", "tierNote": "WCR catalogue page; B except for WCR’s own trial results. Its planting-density class is not used for any number here.", "quote": "Caturra led in part to the intensification of coffee cultivation through higher-density planting, often in full sun", "quotes": [], "accessed": "2026-10-23T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s13", "title": "Bourbon", "authors": "World Coffee Research", "publisher": "World Coffee Research, Arabica Coffee Varieties catalogue", "url": "https://varieties.worldcoffeeresearch.org/varieties/bourbon", "tier": "B", "tierNote": "WCR catalogue page; B except for WCR’s own trial results. Its planting-density class is not used for any number here.", "quote": "In Central America, trees are typically pruned to have one main stem.", "quotes": [], "accessed": "2026-10-23T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s14", "title": "SL28", "authors": "World Coffee Research", "publisher": "World Coffee Research, Arabica Coffee Varieties catalogue", "url": "https://varieties.worldcoffeeresearch.org/varieties/sl28", "tier": "B", "tierNote": "WCR catalogue page; B except for WCR’s own trial results. Its planting-density class is not used for any number here.", "quote": "So, while tree planting densities typically are much lower in Africa, each tree is fruiting relatively more", "quotes": [], "accessed": "2026-10-23T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s15", "title": "La conservación de los suelos y la sostenibilidad de la productividad en la zona cafetera", "authors": "Gómez-Aristizábal, A.; Rivera-Posada, H.", "year": 1993, "publisher": "Cenicafé, Gerencia Técnica, Programa de Investigación Científica", "url": "https://www.cenicafe.org/es/publications/avt0190.pdf", "doi": "10.38141/10779/0190", "tier": "A", "tierNote": "Cenicafé (Colombia’s national coffee research centre) is A for its own research publications.", "quote": "Siembra directa en contorno, a través de la pendiente, con mínima disturbación del suelo (labranza cero).", "quotes": [], "accessed": "2026-10-23T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s16", "title": "Almácigos de café: calidad fitosanitaria, manejo y siembra en el campo [Coffee nurseries: plant health, management and field planting]", "authors": "Gaitán B., Á. L.; Villegas G., C.; Rivillas O., C. A.; Hincapié G., É.; Arcila P., J.", "year": 2011, "publisher": "Cenicafé, Avances Técnicos No. 404", "url": "https://biblioteca.cenicafe.org/jspui/bitstream/10778/350/1/avt0404.pdf", "tier": "A", "quote": "Los transplantes deben hacerse evitando temporadas de alta sequía", "quotes": [], "accessed": "2026-10-23T00:00:00.000Z" } ], "markdown": "## What planting density means\n\nPlanting density is the number of coffee plants on one hectare (10,000 m²). It follows from the spacing: divide 10,000 by the area each plant gets, in square metres.11 Rows 3 m apart with plants 1 m apart in the row give about 3,333 plants per hectare; a 3 × 3 m grid gives about 1,111 (our calculation).11\n\nThe yield of a field is the number of plants multiplied by the yield of each plant.1 Closer planting adds plants but gives each one less light and space. Choosing a density means finding the point where the gain in plants still outweighs the loss per plant.1\n\nDensities have risen over time. A 2007 review states that earlier arabica plantations had fewer than 2,000 trees per hectare.1 Compact, disease-resistant cultivars then allowed closer spacing, and the review describes closer spacing as adopted worldwide (as of 2007) where tractor-based field work is not needed or not possible.1\n\n## What sets the density\n\n**Plant size.** Tall varieties need more room than compact ones. The variety catalogue of World Coffee Research (WCR) places compact Caturra in a higher planting-density class than tall Bourbon or SL28.12,13,14 According to WCR, Caturra helped intensify coffee growing through higher-density planting, often in full sun.12 The 2007 review cites an optimum of about 5,000 trees per hectare for short cultivars such as Caturra and Catimor.1\n\n**Number of stems.** A plant can be trained to one upright stem or to several. WCR notes that in Central America trees are typically pruned to one main stem, in Africa to several.13 According to WCR, planting densities are therefore much lower in Africa, but each tree fruits relatively more.14\n\n**Species.** In Brazil, conilon (a type of *C. canephora*) is grown with several stems per plant.1 The 2007 review cites evidence that conilon density should not exceed 4,000 plants per hectare.1 For short-stature arabica cultivars it cites an optimum of about 5,000.1\n\n**Shade and site.** Shade trees take space and light. In a Colombian trial with shade trees, the densest coffee planting gave the highest yield at every shade-tree spacing tested.3 Shade systems are covered in Shade and agroforestry.\n\n## Densities around the coffee belt\n\nRecommended and measured densities differ widely between countries, species and systems. The chart sets the values from the sources side by side.\n\n
\n
\n
Planting densities by country, species and system. Bars show ranges that were tested, recommended or found on farms; filled dots show the density with the highest yield or an optimum named by the source; open dots show an upper limit or the two spacings compared in Uganda.1,3,4,6,8,9,10,11
\n
\n\n- **Brazil (arabica).** In a trial with the cultivar IAPAR 59 by researchers in Paraná (the paper does not name the site), yield per hectare peaked at about 15,000 plants per hectare.6 The authors call such very dense plantings *superadensado* in Portuguese.6\n- **Brazil (robusta).** In Rondônia, 3,333 plants per hectare with four stems each gave more coffee per hectare than wider spacing.8\n- **Colombia.** Cenicafé, the national coffee research centre, found the highest yields of the variety Castillo at 10,000 plants per hectare.3 For the tall variety Tabi under shade, the best of its tested densities was 5,000.4\n- **Kenya.** For the compact variety Ruiru 11, yields rose with density up to 4,000 trees per hectare, then more slowly.9\n- **Vietnam and Indonesia.** Robusta farms surveyed in Vietnam had 1,000–1,100 plants per hectare; those in Indonesia were densely planted with 2,000–2,500.10\n- **Uganda.** A 2021 study compared robusta at 3 × 1 m and 3 × 3 m spacing, about 3,333 and 1,111 plants per hectare (our calculation).11\n\n## Layouts on the ground\n\nPlants are set out in a grid of rows. The two numbers that define it are the distance between rows and the distance between plants in a row.11 A square grid uses the same distance both ways, such as 2 × 2 m or 1 × 1 m in Colombian trials.2,3\n\nA hedgerow is a rectangular layout with plants close together in the row and wider alleys between rows. Conilon rows can be up to 3.5 m apart with plants 0.5 m apart, according to earlier work cited in a 2021 Brazilian paper.8 For conilon grown without machines, spacings as close as 2 × 1 m can be used.8\n\nOn slopes, Cenicafé advises planting along the contour, across the slope, with minimal soil disturbance.15 It also recommends live barriers of grasses planted across the hillside against erosion.15 Soil conservation is covered in Soils for coffee.\n\n
\n
\n
    \n
  1. Planting position: one plant (or more) per site; plants per hectare = 10,000 ÷ the area per site in m².5,11
    2. \n
  2. Distance between rows: for example 3 m in robusta trials in Brazil and Uganda.8,11
    3. \n
  3. Distance in the row: 1–3 m in those trials; equal to the row distance in a square grid.8,11
    4. \n
  4. Hedgerow: plants close together in the row, down to 0.5 m for conilon.8
    5. \n
  5. Alley: the wide space between hedgerows, up to 3.5 m for conilon.8
    6. \n
  6. Contour row: a row that follows the contour, across the slope.15
    7. \n
  7. Live barrier: grasses planted across the hillside against erosion.15
    8. \n
  8. Downslope direction: the rows run across it, not along it.15
    9. \n
  9. Single-stem plant: typical in Central America.13
    10. \n
  10. Multi-stem plant: several stems in arabica in Africa; up to four in robusta in Brazil.13,8
    11. \n
\n
Three layouts seen from above – square grid (A), hedgerows (B) and contour rows on a slope (C) – and two ways of training a plant (D). Point at a part, its number or its name to highlight it. Schematic, not to scale.
\n
\n\n## Stems per plant and plants per site\n\nThe stem count changes what “density” means. For multi-stemmed conilon, the 2007 review counts upright stems per hectare rather than plants.1 In Rondônia, Brazil, robusta yield per plant rose with up to four stems per plant.8 More than four is not advised, because heavily loaded stems tip over.8\n\nIn arabica, a second stem can cost early yield. In Kenya, two-stem Ruiru 11 yielded less in its first two crops than single-stem plants at all three sites.9 The two-stem plants caught up later, faster in the wetter zone than in the drier one.9\n\nA planting site can also hold two seedlings. In Colombia, two plants per site at 1.42 × 1.42 m gave yields similar to one plant per site at 1 × 1 m.5 Cenicafé notes the lower cost of setting up the plantation.5\n\nYoung plants go into the field from the nursery. Cenicafé advises planting them out outside periods of severe drought, with the root collar at soil level.16 Raising them is covered in Germination and seedlings.\n\n\n\n## Yield per plant and yield per hectare\n\nThe 2007 review splits yield into trees per hectare times yield per tree.1 Production per hectare rises with density in the first years, while yield per tree usually falls.1 At two Kenyan locations it cites, the fall in yield per tree came mostly from fewer fruits per node; at another site, from fewer fruiting nodes.1\n\nField trials show both sides of this trade-off:\n\n- **Robusta, Rondônia, Brazil (2013–2018).** At 3 m between rows, 1,666 and 3,333 plants per hectare (with four stems each) yielded 2.58 and 1.89 kg per plant.8 Per hectare, they gave 71.84 and 105.76 bags of 60 kg, averaged over three harvests.8 That is about 4,310 and 6,346 kg of processed coffee per hectare (our calculation, 60 kg per bag).8\n- **Arabica IAPAR 59, Brazil.** In the second crop year, yield per hectare of depulped beans peaked at 4,528 kg at about 15,139 plants per hectare.6 Yield per plant peaked at 413 g at about 10,383 plants per hectare.6 Densities of 3,333–20,000 plants per hectare were tested.6\n- **Castillo, Santander, Colombia.** Over six harvests, 10,000 plants per hectare gave 32,963 kg of dry parchment coffee per hectare under the best shade spacing; 2,500 plants gave 12,170.3 That is about 5,494 and 2,028 kg per harvest (our calculation).3\n- **Robusta, Mpigi, Uganda.** Yields were estimated from berry counts, not harvested. Per tree, wide spacing gave more clean coffee: 2.31 kg at 3 × 3 m against 1.75 kg at 3 × 1 m.11 The paper estimates 5.82 t per hectare at 3 × 1 m and 4.80 t at 3 × 3 m.11 Its own method, yield per tree times plant population, gives about 2.6 t at 3 × 3 m (our calculation), so the per-hectare comparison is uncertain.11\n\nThe gain per hectare flattens at high density. In Kenya, Ruiru 11 yields rose more slowly above 4,000 trees per hectare, especially in the drier zone.9 In the IAPAR 59 trial, yield per hectare followed a curve with its maximum near 15,000 plants per hectare.6\n\n## Self-shading and the canopy\n\nClose planting shades the plants mutually. The 2007 review states that the lower fruit-bearing of closely spaced trees may be attributed to shading.1 Lower light inside the canopy moves the fruiting zone upwards, and each fruit then needs more leaf area.1 How the fruiting zone forms is described in Branching and fruiting wood.\n\nThe review lists benefits as well. Mutual shading keeps soil temperatures and evaporative demand low, and roots grow deeper in dense plantings.1 Shading reduces excessive flower formation, overbearing and biennial production.1 Except at extreme densities, internal plant water tensions are unlikely to rise.1\n\nLeaf area sets a limit. The review reports an apparent optimal leaf area index (leaf area per ground area) of about 7–8 for several arabica cultivars.1 The best density depends on cultivar, water, nutrients and evaporative demand, according to the review.1\n\n## Density over the life of a plantation\n\nDense plantings yield early and age fast. In a 19-year trial at Campinas, Brazil, high densities gave high yields in the first harvests.7 Their yields then fell markedly after seven harvests, most of all in Caturra, while Mundo Novo kept its potential.7\n\nCenicafé ties the renewal age to density. It gives an optimum renewal age of 5 years at 10,000 plants per hectare, 6 years at 5,000 and 7 years at 2,500.2 Dense plantings should not be topped, so they need varieties with high yield per plant.2 After stumping, it advises up to three new shoots per stump at 2,500 plants per hectare, two at 5,000 and one at 10,000.2 Pruning and stumping cycles are covered in Pruning and renovation.\n\nFor conilon the 2007 review counts stems. The optimum seems to be about 14,000 orthotropic stems per hectare in mildly managed plantations.1 In intensively managed systems it falls to 10,000–12,000.1\n\n## Pests, diseases and field work\n\nEvidence on pests and diseases at high density is thin and mixed. The 2007 review states that high-density systems may increase pest and pathogen attack and make cultural practices more difficult.1\n\nOne field comparison measured incidence. On Bunjako Island, Uganda, robusta at 3 × 1 m and 3 × 3 m showed no significant difference in leaf rust.11 Red blister disease (*Cercospora coffeicola*) was less frequent under close spacing.11 Black coffee twig borer and leaf-eating beetles were more frequent under close spacing.11 Coffee berry borer, leaf miners and canopy mealybugs were more frequent under wide spacing.11 Close spacing was one field of trees about 3 years old; wide spacing was two fields, one stumped to about 3 years old and one about 8 years old, partly 3 km further inland. Field and age differences therefore cannot be ruled out.11 No study consulted for this entry measured leaf rust at different densities of arabica. The diseases themselves are covered in Coffee leaf rust and Coffee berry borer.\n\n## Reference values\n\n| Parameter | Value | Conditions | Source |\n|---|---|---|---|\n| Plants per hectare | 10,000 ÷ (row × in-row spacing, m) | Any layout | Sseremba et al.11 |\n| Earlier arabica plantations | <2,000 trees/ha | Review | DaMatta et al.1 |\n| Earlier conilon plantations | sometimes <1,000 trees/ha | Multi-stem, Brazil | DaMatta et al.1 |\n| Optimum, short-stature arabica | ≈5,000 trees/ha | Evidence cited in review; e.g. Caturra, Catimor | DaMatta et al.1 |\n| Optimum, conilon | ≤4,000 trees/ha; ≈14,000 stems/ha (mild), 10,000–12,000 (intensive) | Brazil, review | DaMatta et al.1 |\n| Ruiru 11, Kenya trial | 1,600–4,800 tested; yield rises to 4,000, then slower | 1 or 2 stems, three sites | Njoroge & Kimemia9 |\n| Castillo, Colombia | 2,500–10,000 tested; highest yield at 10,000 | Agroforestry, Santander, six harvests | Farfán & Sánchez3 |\n| Tabi (tall), Colombia | 1,667–5,000 tested; highest yield at 5,000 | Agroforestry, three zones | Farfán et al.4 |\n| IAPAR 59, Brazil | 3,333–20,000 tested; maximum yield/ha at ≈15,139 | Second crop year; site not named | Braccini et al.6 |\n| Robusta, Rondônia, Brazil | 1,666–3,333 tested; highest yield/ha at 3,333 | 3 m rows, 4 stems per plant | Espindula et al.8 |\n| Stems per robusta plant | up to 4 | Rondônia, Brazil | Espindula et al.8 |\n| Conilon spacing | up to 3.5 m × 0.5 m; down to 2 × 1 m without machines | Brazil, literature cited | Espindula et al.8 |\n| Robusta farms, Vietnam | 1,000–1,100 plants/ha | 558 farms, four Central Highlands provinces | Byrareddy et al.10 |\n| Robusta farms, Indonesia | 2,000–2,500 plants/ha | 240 farms, Southern Sumatra | Byrareddy et al.10 |\n| Robusta, Uganda | 3 × 1 m and 3 × 3 m (≈3,333 and ≈1,111/ha, our calculation) | Mpigi district, three fields | Sseremba et al.11 |\n| Optimal renewal age | 5 / 6 / 7 years at 10,000 / 5,000 / 2,500 plants/ha | Colombia | Arcila Pulgarín2 |\n| Optimal leaf area index | ≈7–8 | Several arabica cultivars | DaMatta et al.1 |\n\n## Open questions\n\n- **Disease at high density in arabica.** No study consulted for this entry measured leaf rust or berry disease across planting densities of arabica.\n- **Quality.** In the IAPAR 59 trial, the authors judged about 10,000 plants per hectare best for physiological and health quality of the seed, below the density with the highest yield.6 Whether density changes cup quality was not measured in the sources consulted here.\n- **Long-term yield.** The density trials consulted here cover two to six harvests, except one.3,6,8 The 19-year Campinas trial suggests early gains can fade.7\n\n## Key studies\n\n
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DaMatta et al., 2007 – Ecophysiology of coffee growth and production. Reviews the physiology behind high-density planting. Explains why yield per tree falls while yield per hectare rises, cites optimum densities for short arabica cultivars and conilon, and proposes counting conilon stems rather than plants.

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Brazilian Journal of Plant Physiology 19(4), 485–510 · doi:10.1590/S1677-04202007000400014

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Njoroge & Kimemia, 1994 – Tree training and plant density in Ruiru 11. Tested one- and two-stem training at 1,600–4,800 trees per hectare at three Kenyan sites. Two-stem trees yielded less in the first two crops; yields rose with density up to 4,000 trees per hectare and more slowly above it.

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Experimental Agriculture 30(1), 89–94 · doi:10.1017/S0014479700023887

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Espindula et al., 2021 – Robusta in different spatial arrangements. Two trials in Rondônia, Brazil, tested one to six stems per plant and 1,666–3,333 plants per hectare. Four stems per plant gave the most; the densest planting lowered yield per plant but raised yield per hectare.

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Pesquisa Agropecuária Brasileira 56, e02516 · doi:10.1590/S1678-3921.pab2021.v56.27057

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Farfán & Sánchez, 2016 – Castillo density under shade. Combined three coffee densities with three shade-tree spacings in Santander, Colombia, over six harvests. The highest yield came from 10,000 coffee plants per hectare, whatever the shade spacing.

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Revista Cenicafé 67(1), 55–62 · Cenicafé library

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Toledo & Barros, 1999 – Density and pruning over 19 years. Followed Caturra and Mundo Novo at several densities and plants per hole at Campinas, Brazil, for 17 harvests. Dense plantings yielded well at first but declined after seven harvests, Caturra most strongly.

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Pesquisa Agropecuária Brasileira 34(8), 1379–1384 · Embrapa journal archive

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