Selection 9 (Sln.9)
A tall Arabica from Tafarikela (an Ethiopian collection) × Hybrido de Timor, known for cup quality. It won the Fine Cup Award for the best Arabica at the 2002 Flavour of India cupping competition.
Quick facts
- Crop
- Coffee
- Type
- Hybrid-derived Arabica selection (Tafarikela × Hybrido de Timor), grown from seed or seedlings
- Season
- All seasons
- Starts bearing
- Perennial tree crop; no Sln.9-specific time to first crop is published
- Seed rate
- About 2,500–4,400 plants a hectare at the 1.5–2.0 m spacing TNAU gives for Arabica (our arithmetic)
- Expected yield
- CCRI international trial: 557 kg a hectare in 2021-22 and 547 kg in 2022-23, the best of the tall varieties
- Suitable soil
- Loam
- Disease resistance
- Rated susceptible to leaf rust and to nematodes in the Coffee Board germplasm profile (SICC); no CCRI rust score was found
- Release
- Listed by the Coffee Board as Sln.9 (Selection 9); no release year was found in the Board's pages
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
About this variety
Selection 9 (Sln.9) comes from a cross of Tafarikela, an Ethiopian Arabica collection, and Hybrido de Timor. The Coffee Board says it took the cup quality of Tafarikela, and that it won the Fine Cup Award for the best Arabica at the 2002 Flavour of India cupping competition. The Board lists it as a main variety in seven regions: Bababudangiris, Biligiris, Chikmagalur, Coorg, Manjarabad, Pulneys and Shevaroys. A trade history of Indian Arabicas calls it one of the two most popular varieties in cultivation, and also calls it susceptible to rust. CCRI treats Sln.9 as a tall variety and uses it as the check in its international variety trial, where it gave 557 kg a hectare in 2021-22 and 547 kg in 2022-23, the best of the tall varieties, with 45.3% A-grade beans in 2022-23. The same CCRI reports say the tall varieties yield moderately next to the dwarf types, and Chandragiri gave 996 kg in the 2022-23 trial.
Should you pick this variety?
Choose Selection 9 if your income comes from cup quality and not from volume: it won a Fine Cup Award, and it gave the most A-grade beans among the tall varieties in the 2022-23 CCRI trial. Accept a lower yield, about 547 kg a hectare in that trial against 996 for Chandragiri, and plan the rust sprays, because a trade article calls it susceptible. Choose Chandragiri if rust and total volume matter more than the cup. Choose S.795 if you want the longest local record and large beans.
Sowing & cultivation
- Sowing timeJune to December, with the south-west monsoon (TNAU)
- Seed rateAbout 2,500–4,400 plants a hectare at the 1.5–2.0 m spacing TNAU gives for Arabica (our arithmetic)
- SpacingAbout 1.5–2.0 m each way for Arabica (TNAU); no Sln.9-specific spacing is published
- 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)
- HarvestingHarvest runs November to February, with the main picking in December (TNAU). Pick ripe cherry only if cup quality is the aim.
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 diseases
Management notes
- Keep the TNAU rust schedule: 0.5% Bordeaux mixture in February–March, then 0.03% oxycarboxin in May–June, repeated through the year.
- Keep shade at the right level and set pheromone traps (25 a hectare) where white stem borer is common (TNAU).
- Spray 1% Bordeaux mixture for black rot during a break in the monsoon (TNAU).
Advantages & considerations
Why farmers may choose it
- Cup quality from the Tafarikela parent, and the Fine Cup Award at the 2002 Flavour of India cupping competition (Coffee Board)
- The best of the tall varieties in the CCRI international trial: 557 and 547 kg a hectare, and 45.3% A-grade beans in 2022-23
- A main variety in seven Coffee Board regions, so planting material and local experience are easy to find
Things to consider
- Yield is moderate: 547 kg a hectare against 996 kg for Chandragiri in the same 2022-23 CCRI trial
- The Coffee Board germplasm profile (SICC) rates it susceptible to leaf rust, and CCRI named Sln.6, not Sln.9, as the tolerant tall variety in 2022-23
- No release year or Sln.9-specific agronomy figures were found; the figures above are TNAU's for Arabica in general
Suitable regions
States this variety is recommended for — check locally, since a state can have more than one recommended zone.
- Karnataka
- Tamil Nadu
Where the planting material comes from
Selection 9 comes 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 Selection 9 or Sln.9 on the label. We found no Coffee Board note on saving Sln.9 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) | 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)this page | 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
Is Selection 9 the same as S.795?
No. S.795 is Selection 3, a cross of S.288 and Kent from the 1940s. Selection 9 is a cross of Tafarikela and Hybrido de Timor. A few papers and trade pages mix up the two names, so read the exact name on the plant label before you buy.
How much does Selection 9 yield?
In the CCRI international trial it gave 557 kg a hectare in 2021-22 and 547 kg in 2022-23, the best of the tall varieties and well below the dwarf types. Some trade pages quote 1,700 kg a hectare as a 23-year CCRI average. We could not find that figure in any CCRI report, so it is not used here. Weigh your own block for two seasons before you plan on a number.
Is Selection 9 resistant to leaf rust?
We found no CCRI rust score for it. The Coffee Board germplasm profile (SICC) rates it susceptible to leaf rust and to nematodes, and in the 2022-23 CCRI trial it was Sln.6 that was named as the tolerant tall variety. Some pages say Sln.9 resists rust races I and II; we found no source for that, so treat it as a rust-prone variety and keep the Bordeaux and oxycarboxin sprays in your plan.
Does the Fine Cup Award mean my coffee will taste the same?
No. The Coffee Board says Sln.9 won the Fine Cup Award for the best Arabica at the 2002 Flavour of India cupping competition, and that it took its cup quality from Tafarikela. That is one lot in one contest. Your cup depends on altitude, shade, picking only ripe cherry, and clean processing, so send a sample for cupping from your own block before you count on a premium.
Why does CCRI use Sln.9 plants as rootstock for Robusta?
It is a research trial on drought tolerance. CCRI grafted Robusta scions (CxR and S.274) on Arabica rootstocks including Sln.9, Sln.6 and Sln.5B, and the Sln.9/CxR graft showed better water content, chlorophyll and enzyme readings than the other combinations in the 2022-23 report. It is not a farm recommendation yet, and the report gives no field yield for these grafts.
Sourced from: Coffee Board of India — Coffee regions of India, Coffee Board of India — Annual Report 2022-23 (international variety trial; Sln.9 rootstock work), Coffee Board of India — Annual Report 2021-22 (international variety trial), TNAU Agritech Portal — Coffee, SICC coffee germplasm — Selection 9 (ARA-11), reference CCRI Balehonnur, Counter Culture — India's Arabica coffee varieties (CCRI release list). editorial policy.