Efeito da distribuição espacial de árvores sobre a qualidade de grãos e bebida de cafeeiros sombreados

Shading coffee trees has gained importance, especially among smallholder, as an option toimprove the products quality, therefor acquiring place at the specialty coffee market, whereconsumers are willing to bonus for quality. This work aims to evaluate the influence of shadingtrees spatial distribution among coffee trees. Experimental design consisted of completely randomizedblocks with six repetitions and four treatments: coffee trees on shading trees plantingrows, distant one meter from the trunk; coffee trees on shading trees planting row, distant sixmeters from the trunk; and coffee plants on the between rows of shading trees, parallel to theprevious treatments. The parameters analyzed were: coffee fruits phenological stage, berryfruits’ Brix, percentage of black, green and borer damaged grains and beverage quality. Shadingtrees quickened coffee fruits phenological stage also influenced beverage quality.