The performance of ten cultivars of Coffea arabica is reported. The trial was established in 1949 in the Experimental Station of Monte Alegre do Sul and the yields recorded during 20 years. The 'Mundo Novo' and 'Bourbon Amarelo' confirmed previous reports about their high yielding capacity. The analysis of annual yields indicated that the better yielding cultivar showed a more intense cycle of bearing. Yield increased until the fourth crop when the biennial cycle of bearing started. The top yield was reached after 14 years. From this time on there was a tendency of decreasing the yield. A significant correlation was found between the cumulative yields of the four and 20 years of sucessive crops. This positive correlation confirms previous results about the efficiency of early selection in coffee.