KENYA AGRICULTURAL & LIVESTOCK RESEARCH ORGANIZATION COFFEE RESEARCH INSTITUTE TELEPHONE: 020 2176420, 020 2176427 CELL PHONE: 0733-333 060/0724-527 611 When replying please quote P.O. Box 4 00232 RUIRU KENYA E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.kalro.org REVIEW OF BATIAN SPACING Please note that the disease resistant coffee varieties Batian and Ruiru 11 allows for closer spacing far below the conventional 2.74m by 2.74m adopted for the disease prone traditional coffee cultivars. Thats why Batian spacing was set up at 2m by 2m (6.6ft by 6.6ft) as bare minimum which works well with proper canopy management, including cutting back of the primaries to reduce lateral expansion while encouraging younger secondaries for bearing. However, based on further field observations on Batian especially under farmers’ management since its release, Coffee Research Institute wish to review the spacing of Batian to 2.1m by 2.5m (7ft by 8ft) i.e for intra row by inter-row spacing. Further research will inform whether the spacings need to be varied for different Agro-eco zones and/or topography. It is also advisable to cap the seedlings at 1 to 1.5 feet from the ground after they are properly established in the field in order to raise two bearing heads. All communications should be addressed to the Institute Director CRI is ISO 9001:2008 Certified 7811-00200, Nairobi, KENYA. Tel: 254-020 41www.kalro.org