Expertise
Ensuring the best coffee quality through research and development
June 2008
A state-of-the-art research facility in France is set to sow the seeds of the best coffee plant across the globe.
The Nestlé Centre Research and Development Tours is the leading force in the propagation of Robusta coffee through somatic embryogenesis, the development process of plant embryos through plant tissue culture.
“As one of the largest producers of soluble coffee in the world, NÉSCAFÉ continuously extends assistance to coffee-producing countries by the distribution of improved planting materials to countless coffee growers across the globe,” says Vincent Petiard, director of R&D Tours France.
Petiard reveals that for the last 15 years, NÉSCAFÉ collected thousands of main Robusta varieties all around the world and planted them in different locations. They studied each Robusta variety and evaluated their pertinence in the field as well as in the factory.
“Here in R&D Tour we have developed a propagation tool to rapidly and efficiently distribute in a large scale the best Robusta varieties through somatic embryogenesis to the growers,” says Petiard.
Today, Petiard says somatic embryogenesis is implemented on a routine basis in different countries.
Somatic Embryogenesis: A Closer Look
The story begins in a greenhouse in France where a particular Robusta variety is chosen among 80 varieties for particular country.
Each Robusta clone is evaluated in comparative trials. The best performing variety in terms of performance in processing and cup quality is then picked for the country’s local conditions.
A coffee leaf of a mother plant is disinfected then multiplied in the solid medium. The pieces are then preserved in liquid nitrogen to rapidly initiate a new production.
The coffee plant tissues are then transferred to a liquid media where plant embryos are in a temporary immersion system to promote growth and pre-germination. Twice a day, they are fed and agitated to remove the air environment.
After two months, around 10,000 to 20,000 embryos are ready for harvest for each system. These are then stored in boxes for one to two months to start life without artificial media.
Each embryo is then sorted and shipped to coffee-producing countries.
Great seed, new beginnings
Upon arrival, the embryos are manually transplanted into plastic trays and maintained in plastic tunnels. The control of environmental conditions is very important for the acclimatization and development of each embryo.
After four months, the plantlets are then transferred to plastic bags in a normal nursery system. In another eight months, these plantlets, which came all the way from France, are ready for field planting.
The plantlets are sold to coffee producers delivering green coffee beans (GCB) to NÉSCAFÉ via a system of direct procurement. The improved Robusta variety allows them to increase their yield and income for years.
“What we do in Nestlé Centre Research and Development Tours is felt and tasted in every cup of NÉSCAFÉ around the world,” says Petiard. “I woke up every morning, nursing that thought on the way to work.” |
