SL 28 Seedlings

The SL 28 cultivar was selected at the former Scott Laboratories (now the National Agricultural Laboratories, NARL situated at Kabete) on a single tree basis from the Tanganyika Drought Resistant variety selected in Northern Tanzania in 1931. The SL prefix is an acronym for Scott Agricultural Laboratories, and the 28 is the serial number.

The SL28 flourishes at medium to high altitudes ranging from 1,500 to 1,700 meters above sea level or above without serious Coffee Leaf Rust. The SL28 is water stress tolerant because it stems from the Tanganyika Drought Resistant variety. It can go without water for a long time and still bear fruit. This is because the roots of the SL28 go deep. You can even leave an SL28 tree unattended for years and revive it to full production. That is a very unique quality.

The SL28 is a tall statured variety with green, but occasionally bronze, shoot tips. The beans are large, the yield is high, and after two years the tree bears fruit. Agronomists recommend a plant density of 1330 trees per hectare to ensure high quality.