Performance of Coffea arabica F1 hybrids in comparison with Americain pure line varieties

Arabica F1 hybrids deriving from crosses between wild Sudan-Ethiopian and American varieties and propagated in somatic embryo form have been created in Central America. These new hybrids considerably increased the genetic diversity of coffee in the region. Based on 15 trials we assessed whether using hybrids constitutes substantial genetic progress in productivity terms in agroforestry and full-sun systems. The new germplasm was grown in the same conditions as the best American varieties (homozygous pure lines). Results showed the yield of hybrids was superior to the yield of American varieties and displayed better earliness. Also, the hybrids displayed better stability over environments than did the American varieties. In the agroforestry system, a comparison of the mean yields revealed that hybrids yielded 58% more than American varieties. In the full-sun system, the yield increase was 34%. Introducing hybrids in the coffee-based agroforestry systems would considerably increase productivity. The conditions for a large-scale dissemination of those new hybrid varieties, that represent a major innovation for the Arabica culture, was analysed. (Résumé d'auteur