what is "sensi skunk"?

[Pollypak]

I have been looking for information on the forums but i have not found anything about the origins of this strain, or much specific information about it. I'm talking about the old 'sensi skunk' from sensi seeds that they have been selling since the early 90s, not the "skunk #1".
Any info will be appreciated (no need to discuss if sensi seeds has been going down for many years as sa seed bank, there's plenty of that elsewhere )

 

[Kimes]

How did we manage it? By crossing a Skunk #1 with a secret, exceptionally sweet mother plant.

From sensi skunk regular info on Sensi's page. Italics mine. Sorry, can't help more than that..

 

[kro-magnon]

The real lineage was never disclosed publicly, it's said to be as other poster wrote a cross of SK#1 with a secret plant, any supposition will just be that a supposition without solid proof.
Try it of you want, I've grown a pack(10 seeds) of those in 07 , I had 5 females with a bit of variation but in the same quality range, 4 were good yielder and 1 on the low side but she was ready a good week before the others. A nice fruity skunk cross but grow at your own risk today no guaranty you'll have the same genetics I had.

 

[Pollypak]

Thanks for your replies, i've seen the official descriptions in sensi's catalogues but, as you guys say, they've never been to clear about it other than 'sweet selection of skunks'. I was wondering if it is in some way related to the skunk selections of the days of yore, like red hair skunk, orange bud or skunk #2.
It seems the only place where it has ended up is in a clone called shoreline, which apparently comes from a sensi skunk of the 90s.

 

[CharlesU Farley]

Thanks for your replies, i've seen the official descriptions in sensi's catalogues but, as you guys say, they've never been to clear about it other than 'sweet selection of skunks'. I was wondering if it is in some way related to the skunk selections of the days of yore, like red hair skunk, orange bud or skunk #2.
It seems the only place where it has ended up is in a clone called shoreline, which apparently comes from a sensi skunk of the 90s.

This is probably going to be much more information than you're looking for, and I'm _totally_ ignorant of the Skunk line history, controversy, etc. but I've done some heavy research on Northern Lights, and Nevil's involvement in it, and have read a whole shitload of associated stories about skunk that I really don't care about. I just happened to read these last night, so here's what Neville said in another forum:

Nevil
Breeder
Nov 3, 2010
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#10
Am I missing something?


"Yes you are and thank you for a useful question.
Skunk#1 has useful characteristics not found in the Maple Leaf line. SK1 has unparalleled calyx to leaf ratio, a sativa like trait that I'm guessing came from a Mexican ancestor. Despite carrying many sativa traits, SK1 is as early as the Afghan ancestor. SK1 is an inbred line that throws true to type. Being a sativa dominant strain, SK1 provides a nice balance to indica dominant types.

Mostly, when people buy seeds, they are looking to grow the ideal plant, according to their taste. Smell, taste, high and yield, along with resin production are the basics. This must be achieved in a plant that flowers as early as possible. After that it's cosmetics"

Nevil
Breeder
Oct 11, 2010
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#103
"Super Skunk or what ever it's called theses days, was prime breeding stock. This will be in a lot of the new varieties today. I once did an analysis on sales statistics. Mine and Sensi's. Super Skunk is the number one variety sold by volume of seeds. NL5xHzC was the number one income producing variety. SS was cheaper.

It was AfgT (ML) that put some super into the skunk. SK1 had bud structure and caylyx to leaf ratio. The best thing about SK1 is the lack of leaf in the bud. Pull off a few fan leaves and your done. The trouble is, most skunks are bland and uninspiring. They are also the first plants in your grow room to show problems. I often used to use one as a canary in the mine. Spider mites love 'em. But SK1 is unparalleled for improving bud structure."


AfgT had a sister, AfgS. This was a sweeter version than the T. It was, however AfgSxSk1 that produced the strongest specimen. This one plant AfgSxSk1 was awe inspiring. It tasted like a Hash Plant with real depth an quality. Strong, strong, strong! I had crossed this plant back to Sk1 and then to SS. This is where I'd be looking to resurrect the best of Maple leaf. In general, plants with AfgS in it's make up should be crossed with AfgT line plants. Sooner or later, throw backs will pop up. As I've said before, I believe, bases on similarity of types and smells, that the Maple Leaf strain is the Afghan behind the original skunks.
I wonder if Shanti has used lines containing AfgS"
N.

Nevil
Breeder
Nov 5, 2010
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#18
Nev mentioned the AfgT being a very smelly skunky plant

"And that it was, but there was a hint of berry behind it. It's full sister AfgS was much sweeter and probably closer to an idealised sweet skunk, but didn't yield as well. The crosses with sk1 were stronger but didn't have the vigour."
N.

Nevil
Breeder
Nov 5, 2010
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#15
I'd love to see what Mr. Nevil has to say!

"I bought Sams skunk and Sam was part of that group. The first line was a 7.1 line, I later got the 18.2 line and I think there was another line after 18.2. The last versions were much better. I'd worked on the last line of Sk1 for 5 or 6 gens. It was leagues ahead of the early stuff. I crossed this with AfgT. It was the best SS yet. SB got that stuff. I expect that it's in much of what your smoking these days (skunk wise)."
N.
" Skunk#1 is a classic case of a heavily inbred strain. I wonder how many 1:1 matings is behind that strain. It has it's problems, but it is still an industry standard. My own skunk line was the result of 5 or 6 generations brother to sister matings. The Early Pearl I used for breeding has been inbred for more than 20 years, starting from about 40 seeds, probably siblings to start with.

Anyone who considers 1:1 F1 hybrids with two unrelated strains bottlenecking, doesn't really know what they are talking about. There is a huge difference between F2s of hybrids and pure strains.

Most of the work I did was with batches of 40-50 seeds at a time. Space constraints did not allow for more. The best plant out of 20 females will be pretty close in quality to the best out of a 1000. Many of my cuttings, still considered elite, came out of similar sized batches.

The fact is that intense selection of small numbers of plants over many generations is what has caused rapid advancement in cannabis genetics and the fixing of type."
N.

Nevil
Breeder
Aug 22, 2010
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#10
"When breeding Skunks I used a very effective method. I'd spray the males with ethylene (it's the same hormone that comes off ripening fruit) a few times until they partially reversed. Enough to show me gland structure, resin production and smell.

If you want to talk about genetic bottlenecking, SK1 is a classic case. The best line that I got from Sam, was pretty bloody good. I would say that that was his crowning achievement. I separated 2 lines from the best single parent mating, and kept them appart. One line had Red labels and the other Blue. I kept doing single parent matings using the above mentioned tek. The plan was to put them back together and then give them out. I'm sure that SB has used these wisely."
N

Now for something you don't have to read, a visual aid: