Breeding for low seed caffeine content of coffee (Coffea L.) by interspecific hybridization

Summary Seeds from open-pollinated flowers collected from hybrids of several Coffea species were analysed for caffeine content. The caffeine content was not always intermediary to that of the parents; higher and lower values were found. Diploid F₁ hybrids between accessions of C. eugenioides and C. salvatrix showed the lowest seed caffeine content. Seeds of the tetraploid hybrids C. arabica × C. salvatrix or C. arabica × C. eugenioides hybrids presented low caffeine content. The possibility of breeding coffee to reduce the caffeine content in the seeds by interspecific hybridization of C. arabica with other Coffea species is discussed.