The technique of arborized coffee crops attemp to minimize the extreme meteorological conditions improving the crop development and yield. This work aimed to characterize the air temperature in arborized systems compared to unshaded cultivation. Evaluations were accomplished in a field experiment, implanted in 1999 at Mococa, one of the most important coffee producing areas at State of São Paulo, Brazil. The experimental plot had 1600 m², where the coffee plants, cv. Icatu Vermelho IAC 4045, were cultivated in unshaded and arborized systems with rubber tree (16x16m) and dwarf coconut palm (8X8m). The air temperature measurements were made during 2006/07 and 2007/08 crop production years. The treatment with rubber tree reduced the daily maximum air temperature up to 3 ºC, especially during summer and spring seasons. In cloudy days there were no differences among treatments with rubber tree and dwarf coconut palm tree and unshaded system. Higher values of daily air temperature amplitude were observed in unshaded coffee treatment. The arborized systems minimize the extreme low temperature effect as they raise the minimum air temperature up to 2 ºC.
microclimate; Coffea arabica; production system; shaded; frost
