Mulching, Infill, and Replanting

Acknowledgment:
This guide is adapted from the Coffee Industry Corporation (CIC) PNG Coffee Handbook 2016. We have simplified the content for easier understanding by farmers.

1. Mulching – Keep Your Coffee Moist and Weed-Free

Mulching protects young coffee seedlings from weeds and dry weather.

How to mulch:

1. Wide spacing: Place a circle of dry grass, banana trash, or corn residue around each seedling, 30 cm radius.
2. Close/hedgerow spacing: Place a 60 cm wide strip of mulch along the row.
3. Important: Keep mulch at least 10 cm away from the stem to prevent rotting.

Tip: Refresh mulch as needed during dry periods.

2. Infill – Replace Missing Seedlings

Some seedlings may die due to pests, disease, animals, drought, or poor planting.

Infill steps:

1. Replace missing seedlings as soon as possible.
2. Remove remains of old seedlings to avoid spreading fungal infections.
3. Treat infill seedlings with the same care as the original planting.

3. Replanting – Renew Your Coffee Garden

Coffee plants last 25–40 years. After that, it’s best to replant. Replanting is needed when:

• Trees are old, low-yielding, or damaged.
• Repeated pruning makes healthy new growth difficult.
• Disease like coffee leaf rust has spread.
• Trees die from lack of fertilizer.

Replanting is similar to starting a new coffee block: clear land, drain, dig planting holes, and plant new seedlings.

3.1 Clearing old coffee

1. Uproot and remove or burn old trees.
2. Remove as much root system as possible to prevent disease.
3. Clean old drains and dig new ones if needed.

3.2 Shade trees

1. Keep young or moderately tall shade trees.
2. Remove very old or tall shade trees.
3. Plant new shade trees immediately to protect young coffee. Temporary shade or windbreaks can also be used.

3.3 Preparing new seedlings

1. Decide on the variety, ideally rust-resistant Catimor.
2. Raise seedlings in a nursery as described earlier.

3.4 Planting the new coffee

1. Plant in old coffee rows to use existing drains and access paths.
2. Planting holes should be dug and refilled as previously described.
3. Consider increasing plant density with dwarf varieties (Catimor or Caturra).

3.5 Intercropping

1. Use cleared land for annual crops before new coffee grows.
2. Intercrop for the first two years for food, mulch, and income.
3. Avoid sweet potato as it harbors coffee pests.