The main purpose of this study was to evaluate sensorial attributes of coffee grown under a transition cultivation system, from conventional to organic, in Lavras (MG). The experiment was established in 2004, in a conventional field with 6 year-old Catuaí Amarelo IAC86 coffee plants, planted using 4,0 X 0,6 m spacing system. The experimental design for organic treatments was the balanced lattice design 4 x 4, with five replicates in factorial scheme 3 x 2 x 2, and 4 additional treatments. Three sources of organic matter were used for the factorial scheme: castor bean bran, chicken litter and cattle manure, with or without application of coffee straw and green manure with pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan L. Millsp.). The four additional treatments were composed by: Treatment 1: cattle manure + coffee straw + coal bran + double potassium and magnesium sulphate; Treatment 2: castor bean bran + coffee straw + rock bran; Treatment 3: coffee straw; Treatment 4: green manure. As a control, a group of coffee plants managed under conventional cultivation system was kept in the same experimental plot. In the first year, no significant differences were observed on the cup quality among grains from conventional and organic plants of all treatments. In the second year, cup quality of some organic treated plants was superior when compared to conventionally treated plants. A positive effect on sensorial attributes was observed using cattle manure, either alone or associated with coffee straw and green manure.
organic coffee; fertilization; nutrition; quality
