Short Communication: Morphological variation of Coffea liberica from Batangas, Philippines with implications for sustainable coffee production and breeding programs
Article Sidebar
Abstract Views: 122
File Views: 64
Main Article Content
Abstract
Abstract. Balan AM, Mendoza PP, Salcedo ARM, Alejandro GJD. 2026. Short Communication: Morphological variation of Coffea liberica from Batangas, Philippines with implications for sustainable coffee production and breeding programs. Biodiversitas 26 (1): d270149. https://doi.org/10.13057/biodiv/d270149. Coffea liberica, locally known as "kapeng barako" in the Philippines, represents an understudied yet economically significant coffee species with unique morphological characteristics and climate resilience. Despite its commercial presence across Southeast Asia and potential for specialty markets, comprehensive morphological assessments of Philippine C. liberica population remain limited. This single-site baseline study provides morphometric analysis of plants grown in Batangas, Philippines, investigating correlations between leaf architecture, fruit morphology, and bean characteristics to inform breeding and sustainable cultivation. Twelve coffee plants from a farm in Barangay Ludlod, Lipa, Batangas, were analyzed using standardized morphometric protocols. Statistical analyses included correlation analysis and ANOVA to examine relationships among leaf area, cherry volume, bean dimensions, and pulp thickness. Strong positive correlations were observed between leaf area and both cherry volume (r = 0.84, p<0.05) and bean volume (r = 0.92, p<0.05), indicating coordinated morphological development. Cherry and bean volumes showed moderate correlation, while pulp thickness correlated positively with both cherry and bean volumes and accounted for over half of variation in both traits. ANOVA revealed statistically significant differences in cherry size among individual plants, though the overall range of variation was relatively narrow compared to reported diversity in other coffee species. These findings establish baseline morphometric data for C. liberica from this site, demonstrating coordinated leaf-fruit development that may guide selection criteria for breeding. Results highlight the need for expanded multi-site studies to validate these relationships for improved productivity and climate adaptation strategies.
Article Details
Issue
Section
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
References
Abubakar Y, Anhar A, Baihaqi A, Mushlih AM. 2024. Influence of farm altitude and variety on quality of arabica coffee cherry and bean grown in Gayo Highland, Indonesia. Intl J Des Nat Ecodyn 19: 1033-1041. https://doi.org/10.18280/ijdne.190332.
Alberto NJ, Ferreira A, Ribeiro-Barros AI, Aoyama EM, Silva LOE, Rakocevic M, Ramalho JC, Partelli FL. 2024. Plant morphological and leaf anatomical traits in Coffea arabica L. cultivars cropped in Gorongosa Mountain, Mozambique. Horticulturae 10 (9): 1002. https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae10091002.
Bizimungu G, Ahouansou RH, Semassou C, Dusabumuremyi JC. 2022. Physical and mechanical properties of coffee cherries and beans in Africa: Review and the state of arts. Food Sci Technol 10 (3): 55-74. https://doi.org/10.13189/fst.2022.100301.
Cao EP, Constantino-Santos DM, Ramos LAP, Santos BS, Quilang JP, Mojica RM. 2014. Molecular and morphological differentiation among Coffea (Rubiaceae) varieties grown in the farms of Cavite Province, Philippines. Philipp Sci Lett 7 (2): 387-397.
Cascos G, Lozano J, Montero-Fernandez I, Marcia-Fuentes JA, Aleman RS, Ruiz-Canales A, Martin-Vertedor D. 2023. Electronic nose and gas chromatograph devices for the evaluation of the sensory quality of green coffee beans. Foods 13 (1): 87. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13010087.
Davis AP, Kiwuka C, Faruk A, Walubiri MJ, Kalema J. 2022. The re-emergence of Coffea liberica as a major crop plant. Nat Plants 8: 1322-1328. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-022-01309-5.
Davis AP, Shepherd-Clowes A, Cheek M, Moat J, Wei Luo D, Kiwuka C. Kalema J, Tchiengue B, Viruel J. 2025. Genomic data defines species delimitation in Liberica coffee with implications for crop development and conservation. Nat Plants 11: 1729-1738. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-025-02073-y.
Degefa M, Alamerew S, Mohammed A, Gemechu A. 2021. Correlation and path coefficient analysis of morphological quantitative characters in some Ethiopian specialty coffee (Coffea arabica L.) accessions. Am J Agric For 9 (4): 248-257. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajaf.20210904.22.
Fernandez ML, Balatico FVM, Clemente RMA, Julian LJ, Pattung BC. 2022. Morphological characterization and identification of existing coffee types at CSU Lal-lo Valena site. Intl J Biosci 21 (6): 53-58. http://dx.doi.org/10.12692/ijb/21.6.53-58.
Hafif B, Ferry Y, Martono B, Harni R, Sasmita KD, Saidi BB, Maswar M, Heryanto RB, Nazir N, Agus F, Ibrahim MSD. 2024. Liberica coffee as an alternative cropping system for sustainable farming on Indonesian Peatlands. Intl J Agric Biol Eng 17 (1): 180-188. https://doi.org/10.25165/j.ijabe.20241701.7896.
Haile M, Kang WH. 2019. The role of microbes in coffee fermentation and their impact on coffee quality. J Food Qual 2019 (1): 4836709. https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/4836709.
Halim-Lim SA, Wan-Mohtar WAQI, Surapinchai S, Azizan NAZ. 2022. Optimum condition of roasting process of Liberica coffee towards the local and international preference. Food Res 6 (3): 115-123. https://doi.org/10.26656/fr.2017.6(3).340.
Lagman MCA. 2023. Variability in Philippine Coffea liberica provides insights into development amidst a changing climate. Proceedings 89 (1): 27. https://doi.org/10.3390/ICC2023-14852.
Malek MAA, Rahman MG, Hossain MA, Islam M. 2024. Performance evaluation of coffee Coffea canephora (syn. Coffea robusta) germplasm in the hilly region. Cross Current Intl J Agri Vet Sci 6 (1): 15-18. https://doi.org/10.36344/ccijavs.2024.v06i01.003.
Nurdin, Zakaria F, Azis MA, Rahim Y, Rahman R, Kasim M. 2022. Comparison of land suitability class for endemic Coffea liberica Pinogu HP. acquired using different methods and recommendations for land management in Pinogu Plateau, Bone Bolango Regency, Indonesia. Sains Tanah J Soil Sci Agroclimatol 19 (1): 42-51. http://dx.doi.org/10.20961/stjssa.v19i1.56441.
Osorio Pérez V, Álvarez-Barreto CI, Matallana LG, Acuña JR, Echeverri LF, Imbachí LC. 2022. Effect of prolonged fermentation of coffee mucilage with different stages of maturity on the quality and chemical composition of the bean. Fermentation 8 (10): 519. https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation8100519.
Panaligan AC, Baltazar MD, Alejandro GJD. 2020. Genetic polymorphism of registered and popularity cultivated coffee (Coffea spp.) in the Philippines using inter-simple sequence repeats markers. Biodiversitas 21 (9): 4228-4233. https://doi.org/10.13057/biodiv/d210938.
Pompelli MF, Antunes WC, Ferreira DTRG, Cavalcante PGS, Wanderley-Filho HCL, Endres L. 2012. Allometric models for non-destructive leaf area estimation of Jatropha curcas. Biomass Bioenergy 36: 77-85. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biombioe.2011.10.010.
Santos NRS, Magat MB, Mondragon MV, Cao E, Santos DMC. 2023. Genetic profiling of locally registered Philippine coffee using molecular markers linked to resistance against diseases and pests. Biodiversitas 24 (7): 4136-4144. https://doi.org/10.13057/biodiv/d240752.
Shara PN, Thomy Z, Anhar A, Harnelly E, Ramlan RR. 2021. Morphological characterization of some Coffea arabica L. varieties in Gayo Experimental Garden Bener Meriah. J Phys Conf Ser 1882: 012092. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/1882/1/012092.
Silva LOE, Almeida RN, Feitoza RB, Da Cunha M, Partelli FL. 2025. Modifications in leaf anatomical traits of Coffea spp. genotypes induced by management × season interactions. Plants 14 (5): 828. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14050828.
Wafaretta E, Jatmiko YD, Sunarharum WB, Hakim LC. 2023. Coffea liberica leaf and tree architecture model of confusing accession in Poncokusumo, Malang District, East Java, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 24 (5): 3073-3080. https://doi.org/10.13057/biodiv/d240563.
Xiao Z, Ma G, Bai X, Li J, Zhao M, Su L, Zhou H. 2024. The influence of leaf anatomical traits on photosynthesis in Catimor type Arabica coffee. Beverage Plant Res 4: e002. https://doi.org/10.48130/bpr-0023-0035.
Yirga M, Gebreselassie W, Tesfaye A. 2021. Correlation and path coefficient analysis in coffee (Coffea arabica L.) germplasm accessions in Ethiopia. Sci Res 9: 27-34. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sr.20210902.12.