On 20 september, journalists from the daily science and technology newspaper visited the national agricultural science and technology park in lhasa. Only in the greenhouses, a coffee branch leaves and onions of red coffee. The data on the growth of the coffee tree are being carefully documented, with joy on its face. “we have managed to grow coffee in the highlands, and the quality is quite good.” he said。
After six years of seeding, the scientific team screened four varieties of coffee adapted to the highland environment and successfully hung fruit in the open-air areas of murdoch and the lhasa greenhouse, marking an important breakthrough in the scale cultivation of coffee in tibet, laying the foundation for the development of a unique coffee industry in tibet。
In 2016, the ministry of agriculture and rural development included the three districts of murte, tsaj and bomi in the tibet autonomous region in the south asian hot zone. Subsequently, the institute of vegetables of the academy of agricultural and livestock sciences of the tibet autonomous region established the tibetan centre for research and development of tropical crops. “there is an urgent need to look for tibetan heat for a breakthrough in development at the beginning of the centre.” the head of the coffee group of the vegetables institute of the academy of agricultural and livestock sciences of the tibet autonomous region, ju yongjie, recalled that since 2019, the centre had conducted research on coffee as a target species。
However, the path of seeding has not been easy. Tibet as a whole is located in the highlands, and even in hot areas, the heat is very limited. Coffee cultivation requires appropriate temperature conditions, and insufficient heat may affect the growth and development of coffee trees. This, coupled with the strain on land resources, such as the ink off, and the presence of natural reserves at the national level, makes it difficult to scale up coffee and expand cultivation。
“ecosecurity is the greatest challenge.” ju yongjie said that tibet had no previous history of coffee cultivation and that it was important to be careful about seeding. The team uses seed breeding to minimize the risk of pest transmission。
The team set up an adaptation screening test in the town of linzhi, the city of murut, and the high-efficiency solar greenhouse of the national agricultural science and technology park in lhasa. The results showed that coffee could not be successfully weathered in tsakashi county owing to the longer duration of the night, which exceeded the coffee tolerance limit, and that the collapse of murdoch county, thanks to the effective barrier of the high himalayas and kamzhamba mountains in the north, had created a significant small climate characterized by the tropical season rainforest, providing an environmental basis for normal coffee growth。
After six years of hard work, the team eventually screened four of the 10 coffee varieties for the highlands. “these varieties are adaptable, resistant, and productively stable.” ju yongjie said。
Test data show that high levels of coffee cane sugar are grown in high-efficiency solar-temperature rooms in lhasa, tibet, which is a very positive signal. “the high content of sugar cane is highly likely to be due to the abundance of day and night temperatures in lhasa.” ju yongjie states that “the high sugar content is the basis of a good cup of coffee, which is a `mother' of the flavor, which breaks down and reorganizes in the baking and produces a series of pleasant fragrances.”
Even more encouraging is the fact that the team of researchers also found out in field surveys that are unique to tibet’s wild coffee breeding resources. “we carried out systematic field surveys and seed resource collection in 2019 and 2020, eventually finding four wild populations of coffee caches.” ju yongjie said。
Through a preliminary analysis of the metabolic test data of the coffee cache, researchers have found that its fruit-cover metabolites contain a large number of anti-inflammatory elements, which provides a solid basis for the protection, use and follow-up of the coffee cache。
“tibet is the only place in the country with a wild coffee seeding resource, while murdoch has the unique climate of the tropical rainforest, which makes coffee at the highest latitudes worldwide. Tibetan coffee, which is a small group of coffees, is suitable for small and fine mass of coffee, seeking to position itself in the international market for higher value added.”
Ju yungjie stated that in the future, the team would develop its own value and develop it as a new specialty crop or functional product; on the other hand, it would further expand coffee cultivation in tibet。
