Chandragiri (Sln.13)
A semi-dwarf Arabica of Sarchimor lineage (Villa Sarchi × Hybrido de Timor), released in 2007 as an F3 line. CCRI uses it as its check variety in variety trials and as the parent for its newer rust-resistant hybrids.
Quick facts
- Crop
- Coffee
- Type
- Hybrid-derived Arabica line (Sarchimor), grown from seed or seedlings
- Season
- All seasons
- Starts bearing
- Perennial tree crop; CCRI recorded yields from 2017 to 2021 on plants set out in 2012
- Seed rate
- About 4,300 plants a hectare at 5 ft × 5 ft (1.52 m), the spacing used in the CCRI plot (our arithmetic)
- Expected yield
- CCRI trial: 887 to 1,303 kg clean coffee a hectare over four years (2017-21); 811 to 1,274 kg in the Board's international trial
- Suitable soil
- Loam
- Disease resistance
- Tolerant to the rust races in India when selected, but rust still reached 2.8% to 30% of plants in a CCRI block; peak 21.03% in January 2022 against 42.71% on S.795
- Release
- Released in 2007 in its F3 generation (trade history of Indian Arabicas); developed by the Coffee Board and listed as Sln.13 in the Board's annual report 2021-22
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
About this variety
Chandragiri is Selection 13 (Sln.13) of the Central Coffee Research Institute (CCRI) and belongs to the Sarchimor lineage, a cross of Villa Sarchi and Hybrido de Timor. A trade history of Indian Arabicas says it came in through Portugal and was released in 2007 in its F3 generation. CCRI describes the plant it was selected from as one that stayed tolerant to all the rust races then present in India, and a C. canephora (Robusta) introgressed line. The Specialty Coffee Association of India germplasm page lists it as semi-dwarf with large beans, late ripening and green-and-bronze leaf tips, and as susceptible to nematodes and the white stem borer but tolerant of the shot hole borer. In the CCRI plot at Balehonnur it gave 887 to 1,303 kg of clean coffee a hectare over four years. It is also the check variety in the Board's international variety trial, where it gave 1,274, 811 and 996 kg a hectare in three years. It is not immune to rust: up to 30% of its plants showed rust in the worst year.
Should you pick this variety?
Choose Chandragiri if rust has already cost you crop on S.795 or if you want a semi-dwarf Arabica with CCRI numbers behind it: 887 to 1,303 kg a hectare in its plot and a rust peak about half that of S.795 on the same farm. Keep the sprays in the plan, because 30% of plants showed rust in the worst year. Skip it for land with a nematode or white stem borer history, since it is susceptible to both. Choose Selection 9 if cup quality matters more to you than rust tolerance.
Sowing & cultivation
- Sowing timeJune to December, with the south-west monsoon (TNAU)
- Seed rateAbout 4,300 plants a hectare at 5 ft × 5 ft (1.52 m), the spacing used in the CCRI plot (our arithmetic)
- Spacing5 ft × 5 ft under two-tier shade, plants trained on a topped single stem (CCRI trial); TNAU gives 1.5–2.0 m each way for Arabica
- Sowing methodOne plant per pit of 45 cm each way with 500 g rock phosphate; dadap as lower shade and silver oak as permanent shade (TNAU)
- IrrigationA blossom shower in March–April and a backing shower in April–May; 1,600–2,500 mm of rain a year suits Arabica (TNAU)
- FertilizerArabica, kg N:P₂O₅:K₂O a hectare a year: year 1, 45:30:45; years 2–3, 60:45:60; year 4, 80:60:80; bearing under 1 t/ha, 140:90:120; bearing 1 t/ha or more, 160:120:160 (TNAU)
- HarvestingCCRI picked its Chandragiri plot in November–December; TNAU gives November to February for coffee, with the main picking in December
Soil & climate
Soil
- Suitable soil
- Well-drained soil with a pH of about 4.5–6.5 (TNAU)
- Irrigation
- Good drainage essential
Climate
- Rainfall
- About 1,600–2,500 mm a year
- Climate
- Arabica grows at about 1,000–1,500 m (TNAU, Coffee Board).
Pest & disease considerations
Major pests
- White stem borer (susceptible)
- Coffee berry borer
- Shot hole borer (tolerant)
Management notes
- Keep optimum shade and put pheromone traps (25 a hectare) where white stem borer is common (TNAU).
- Keep the rust spray plan ready even on this variety: 0.5% Bordeaux mixture in February–March, then 0.03% oxycarboxin in May–June (TNAU).
- Test the soil for nematodes before planting on old coffee land.
Advantages & considerations
Why farmers may choose it
- Less rust than S.795 in the same CCRI farm: peak 21.03% against 42.71% in January 2022, and rust started only in August 2021 on Chandragiri while S.795 carried it all year
- Published CCRI yields: 887 to 1,303 kg a hectare in the plot and 1,274, 811 and 996 kg in the international trial
- 68% A-grade beans in the 2020-21 international trial (Coffee Board)
Things to consider
- Not immune to rust: 2.8% to 30% of plants showed rust in the CCRI block, and the 30% came in 2019-20 (a high-rust year) and again in 2020-21
- Susceptible to nematodes and the white stem borer (SICC germplasm page)
- Yields swing a lot from year to year: 887 and 1,303 kg a hectare in the same plot, and 811 to 1,274 kg in the international trial
Suitable regions
States this variety is recommended for — check locally, since a state can have more than one recommended zone.
- Karnataka
- Odisha
- Nagaland
Read the Chandragiri rust numbers before you cut a spray
In the CCRI plot at Balehonnur, the share of Chandragiri plants with rust was 2.8% in 2017-18, 20% in 2018-19 and 30% in both 2019-20 and 2020-21 (Das, Shivanna and Prakash, J. Hortl. Sci. 16(2), 2021). Rust moved with the weather: 2019-20 was a high-rust year for the parent lines in the plot. On the same CCRI farm in 2021-22, rust on S.795 was present all year and peaked at 42.71% in January 2022, while on Chandragiri it began in August 2021 and peaked at 21.03% in the same month.
So the variety lowers the rust load. It does not remove it. Walk your rows every month from July to January, count the share of plants with orange pustules, and keep the Bordeaux and oxycarboxin dates from TNAU ready. If your count stays near the 3% of the good year, you can think about leaving out a round. If it climbs toward 30%, you cannot.
Where the planting material comes from
Chandragiri was released as an F3 line from a cross, so seed saved from your own trees may not stay the same in later generations. Buy seed or seedlings from the Coffee Board's seed blocks or a registered nursery, and ask for the name Chandragiri on the label. We found no Coffee Board note on saving Chandragiri seed.
How it compares with other varieties
Every Coffee variety with a page on this site, side by side. The row for this page is highlighted.
| Variety | Best for | Starts bearing | Yield | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cauvery (Catimor) | Dwarf-type Arabica blocks in the Coffee Board's main regions where you can keep a monthly rust check | Perennial tree crop; no Cauvery-specific time to first crop is published | TNAU lists 3,000 kg a hectare for Cauvery; we found no CCRI trial figure to check it against | Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh |
| Chandragiri (Sln.13)this page | Arabica blocks at 1,000–1,500 m where rust is the main loss and you want a variety with published CCRI numbers | Perennial tree crop; CCRI recorded yields from 2017 to 2021 on plants set out in 2012 | CCRI trial: 887 to 1,303 kg clean coffee a hectare over four years (2017-21); 811 to 1,274 kg in the Board's international trial | Karnataka, Odisha, Nagaland |
| S.274 (Robusta) | Robusta estates at 500–1,000 m in Chikmagalur, Coorg, Wayanad and the Nilgiris that want a long-tested variety and can plant it with S.270 | Perennial tree crop; a late-ripening Robusta (World Coffee Research) | Nearly 1,000 kg a hectare over 35 years of rain-fed testing; 1,500–3,000 kg of green bean a hectare in limited breeder trials (World Coffee Research) | Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu |
| S.795 (Selection 795) | Established Arabica estates at 1,000–1,500 m in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu where you can keep up a rust spray programme | First crop in about year 4 (World Coffee Research); TNAU treats Arabica as bearing from year 5 | About 700–1,200 kg clean coffee/ha (TNAU); a CCRI record from the Pulneys puts it near 400 kg an acre | Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh |
| Selection 9 (Sln.9) | Quality-first Arabica estates in Coorg, Chikmagalur and the Tamil Nadu hills that can earn a premium for the cup and run careful picking | Perennial tree crop; no Sln.9-specific time to first crop is published | CCRI international trial: 557 kg a hectare in 2021-22 and 547 kg in 2022-23, the best of the tall varieties | Karnataka, Tamil Nadu |
Tools for this crop
The numbers you need next: how much seed to buy, whether the lot germinates, what the fertilizer bill looks like and what Coffee is selling for.
- Seed Rate CalculatorHow much seed your Coffee plot needs, corrected for the germination of the lot you bought.
- Germination CalculatorTest 100 seeds from the bag before sowing and see whether the lot is fit to sow.
- Seed Variety FinderFilter every Coffee variety on this site by state, season, duration and soil.
- Fertilizer CalculatorTurn the NPK recommendation for Coffee into bags of urea, DAP and MOP for your field size.
- Crop CalendarMonth-by-month sowing, weeding, irrigation and harvest dates for Coffee in your state.
- Crop Profit CalculatorPut your seed, labour and input costs against the yield you expect from this variety.
- Mandi Price CheckerToday's Coffee rate in your nearest mandi, before you fix a price with a trader.
Frequently asked questions
How resistant to rust is Chandragiri really?
CCRI describes the plant it was selected from as tolerant to all the rust races then present in India. In field plots it still had rust: 2.8% to 30% of plants in the CCRI block over four years, and a peak of 21.03% in January 2022, against 42.71% on S.795. So it is much better than S.795, but it is not immune. Some trade pages quote 95–98% resistance; we could not find that in any CCRI paper, so it is not used here.
What yield can I expect from Chandragiri?
In the CCRI plot (planted 2012, 5 ft × 5 ft), clean coffee came to 887, 1,224, 1,070 and 1,303 kg a hectare from 2017-18 to 2020-21. In the Board's international variety trial the check Chandragiri gave 1,274 kg in 2020-21, 811 in 2021-22 and 996 in 2022-23. Arabica bears heavily in alternate years, so judge your own block over at least two seasons.
Does Chandragiri need less pest control than S.795?
Not for borers and nematodes. The SICC germplasm page lists Chandragiri as susceptible to nematodes and the white stem borer, and tolerant of the shot hole borer. S.795 is also listed as susceptible to nematodes (World Coffee Research). The gain from Chandragiri is on rust only, so keep shade at the right level and the white stem borer traps in place.
Where is Chandragiri grown, and can I plant it outside Karnataka?
The SICC page lists 17 farms growing it in Hassan, Mandya, Coorg (Kodagu) and Chikmagalur in Karnataka, and in Nagaland and Koraput in Odisha. The Coffee Board's regions page does not name Chandragiri as a main variety for any region. Outside Karnataka, ask the Board's regional office or a farm already growing it before you plant a whole block.
Are newer rust-resistant hybrids replacing Chandragiri?
CCRI is using Chandragiri as a parent. It crossed it with Sln.10 to add the SH3 rust gene. One of the four hybrids, S.5086, gave 1,611 kg a hectare in 2020-21 and a four-year mean of 1,313 kg, and had no rust in its plants during the whole study. These are research hybrids and the paper calls them promising for commercial use, but we found no release notice, so you cannot buy them yet.
Sourced from: Selection 13 (Chandragiri) — SICC Germplasm, Das, Shivanna and Prakash (CCRI), J. Hortl. Sci. 16(2), 2021 — F1 hybrids and field tolerance to leaf rust, Coffee Board of India — Annual Report 2021-22 (rust on S.795 and Chandragiri; international variety trial), Coffee Board of India — Annual Report 2020-21 and 2022-23 (international variety trial), TNAU Agritech Portal — Coffee, Counter Culture — India's Arabica coffee varieties (CCRI release list). editorial policy.