Divisi
When to plant Robusta coffee in Maio
Cabo Verde
Robusta (Coffea canephora) is a hardy evergreen coffee tree of the warm lowlands — bigger, tougher and higher-yielding than highland Arabica, and far better at shrugging off leaf rust.
| Fit | Favourable |
|---|---|
| When to plant (establish) | 21 Jan 2026 – 1 Jan 2027 open now |
| Expected harvest | about 2.6 t/ha |
| Bearing cycle | 270–330 days per crop once the plant is established. Planting to the first harvest takes longer than one cycle. |
| Work it takes | 122–255 days per hectare, by hand |
Rain-fed. These dates are worked out from each place's own rainfall, for a field watered by the season — with irrigation a window can open earlier, close later, or come round more than once a year. Check your own field under What grows, or get the Divisi app for a calendar dated to your farm.
If you only get one chance to plant, aim for around 1 Jan 2027. That is the point in the window where the rains are most reliably established.
This season's rainfall outlook for Maio leans dry, so these dates sit later than the long-run average. Planting on the date you are used to risks germinating into a false start and having to replant.
Planting after 1 Jan 2027 leaves the crop short of season: it runs into the dry months before it has finished filling.
What decides this in Maio
| Rain and temperature | 96% |
|---|---|
| The soil | 76% |
| The lie of the land | 45% |
For robusta coffee in Maio, the lie of the land is the tightest of the three at 45%. You cannot flatten it, but you can farm it: plant along the contour rather than up and down, ridge or tie ridges to hold water on the slope, and expect shallower rooting than the crop would manage on flat ground.
The season in Maio
| Rain in a typical year | About 198 mm |
|---|---|
| This season's rain | Leaning dry. Plant at the early end of the window and favour quicker, more drought-tolerant crops. |
| What that supports | too dry for rain-fed cropping without irrigation, warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season |
| Ground this covers | 2 kinds of ground. The season below is one typical farming district's, not a figure for the whole of this area. |
| 77% | too dry for rain-fed cropping without irrigation; warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season no rain-fed season · about 200 mm |
|---|---|
| 23% | too dry for rain-fed cropping without irrigation; warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season no rain-fed season · about 180 mm |
last updated 17 September 2026 · from all 1 areas within it
What robusta coffee needs to grow here
| Soil it likes | sandy loam, loam or clay loam |
|---|---|
| Soil sourness (pH) | Happiest between pH 5.0 and 6.5 |
| Spacing | 275 cm between rows, 275 cm between plants |
| Feed it most with | potassium |
What it takes to grow robusta coffee in Maio
| Planting material | About 1,350 plants per hectare |
|---|---|
| Nitrogen (N) | About 91 kg per hectare |
| Phosphate (P₂O₅) | About 18 kg per hectare |
| Potash (K₂O) | About 101 kg per hectare |
| In the shops | A basal compound at planting — Compound D, or an NPK blend — covers the phosphate and potash. A nitrogen top dressing — urea or AN — goes on once the crop is established. |
| Hand work | 122–255 days per hectare, by hand |
These are the nutrients a robusta coffee crop of that size carries off the field. What you actually apply depends on what your soil already holds — which is what a soil test, or the app's field records, tell you.
What to watch for
Grow Robusta coffee with a plan, not a guess
Everything above describes Maio as a whole — your own soil, slope and rainfall will shift the dates. The Divisi app works them out for your field, and dates each job that follows.
This calendar moves
Planting windows shift with the forecast. Leave your email and we'll send what changed, and a note when planting time nears — a couple of emails a month at most.
Frequently asked questions
Will robusta coffee grow well in Maio?
Maio rates as favourable for robusta coffee.
When should I plant robusta coffee in Maio?
Typically 21 Jan 2026 to 1 Jan 2027, forecast-adjusted.
Is this exact for my own field?
No — these are readings taken across Maio, not on your field. Soil, slope and rainfall change from one farm to the next. Check your own location to see your own numbers.