INTAD candidate travels to Costa Rica to study soil health on coffee farms

Soil health is defined as the soil’s capacity to support life, which includes many functionalities such as carbon storage, habitat provisioning, managing water and air access, and nutrient cycling. Coffee producers in Costa Rica face many tradeoffs in management for plant and soil health, particularly the use of shade trees and the application of herbicides. Shade trees can add organic matter to the soil, protect the coffee plants from wind, and have other benefits for farmers such as producing fruit or timber.

At the same time, trees tend to increase moisture in the coffee system, encouraging the spread of fungal diseases such as la roya (coffee leaf rust). Similarly, eliminating weeds with frequent herbicide use can benefit coffee production by diminishing competition for soil nutrients, but it may also decrease soil biological activity and destroy habitat for natural predators of coffee pests. Camillone’s study aims to analyze the impact of these management practices on soil health and microbial activity using both field-based indicators and laboratory analyses.

The coffee producers participating in Camillone’s study are members of Coopeldos cooperative centered in Tilarán, Costa Rica. In addition to analyzing soil properties in the field and in the lab, Camillone is discussing soil health with stake holders and conducting interviews to better relate her study findings to producers’ questions and information needs.

Acknowledgements: Camillone’s research project is supported through the INTAD Graduate International Research Competitive Grants Program. Her graduate program advisor at Penn State is Dr. Mary Ann Bruns, and her research supervisor at EARTH University is José Eduardo Villalobos Leandro.