Nicaragua

Coffee since the 1850s, historically strongest in Matagalpa and Jinotega. The northern departments together are called Las Segovias.

Large-scale coffee growing began in Nicaragua in the 1850s, and by 1870 coffee was the principal export crop, a position it held for the next century. Wikipedia names Matagalpa and Jinotega as the historic source of the best coffee, and describes about 800 m as the most convenient altitude for growing it. Production is centered in the northern central highlands north and east of Estelí, with another area around the hilly volcanic region near Jinotepe. Las Segovias is the regional name for the five northern departments of Estelí, Jinotega, Madriz, Matagalpa and Nueva Segovia. Maracaturra, a cross of Maragogipe and Caturra, is grown mainly in Brazil, El Salvador and Nicaragua. In 2019 CIRAD developed Starmaya, a rust-resistant F1 hybrid propagated by seed, on test plots in Nicaragua.

History

Large-scale coffee growing began in Nicaragua in the 1850s, and by 1870 coffee was the principal export crop for the next century. The 1891 crop exceeded 5,000,000 kg from 31,000 hectares, and the government offered a prize of 5 cents per tree for plantations of more than 5,000 trees. By 1992 more land was planted in coffee than in any other crop. In 2019 CIRAD developed the Starmaya hybrid on test plots in Nicaragua.