Distribuição espacial do sistema radicular de plantas de café conilon e arábica

The objective of this work was to evaluate the root system of Conilon coffee ( Coffea canephora ) and Arabica coffee ( Coffea arabica ) plants in the soil profile, using semivariograms. The evaluations were carried out in an area located in the municipality of Jaguare, in the state of Espirito Santo, Brazil. The Verdebras G30/G35 Conilon coffee and the Catuai Vermelho IAC 44 Arabica coffee cultivars were assessed. Soil monoliths with coffee plant roots were collected at three distances from the trunk in the planting row and at six distances from the trunk between rows, at six depths. The roots were collected and washed and then digitized and processed in the Safira software. The spatial variability of the evaluated attributes was characterized by the geostatistical technique, through semivariograms, using the GS+ 7.0 software. Root surface area, length, and volume were quantified for the two coffee species. Conilon coffee plants have a tendency of showing a root system with a smaller surface area, shorter length, and lower volume by volume of soil, as well as a less discrepant distribution on soil surface and in deeper layers, compared with Arabica coffee.