Chitral - A Cultivar Report

[CGM]

this will be interesting

 

[bostrom155]

I was thinking of this strain too

Citral produces a nice mellow herbal taste, very good yield and strong hard buds. Indoor for best results, grow relatively tall before changing the photo period. Citral produces a fresh, almost fabric softener aroma and interesting cerebral experience for the growing enthusiast. Some of the genetics for this strain come from the Hindu Kush mountain region near a village district named Chitral.
• Plant height: Short Plant
• Stoned or high?: Stoned INDICA
• THC level: High THC
• Flowering Weeks: 8/9
• Yield : 450
• Harvest Month: 9

 

[Guest]

awesome

the only exprience i had with citral is with citral x filipino

 

[DocLeaf]

so far the picture sits as follows:

Chitral, an isolated inbred cultivar of Cannabis indica descending from the foothills of the Hindu Kush. Both wild cultigen, that sit at higher altitude, and cultivated varieties down valley recieve very little water, inhabiting an arid type climate, with extreme contrasting temps, from day to night, summer to winter. They recieve little or no rainfall, taking water from mountain snow as it melts.

The plants are short and compact with thick/broad leaf structure designed to preserve/conserve water content. Traditionally the plant (cultivated and wild) are used in to make hashish (for smoking) and bang lassie (a cooling summer drink)....

thanks folks... please keep the knowledge flowing...
DocL

 

[DocLeaf]

Cultivation Report #1

Cultivation Report #1

Cultivation Report #1

Ok folks, here grows with the Chitral [Nirvana Seeds B.V] out test 2006

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Germination and Initial Transplanting:



Day1: x2 Chitral seeds placed onto damp soil substrait (canna professional mix) in a mini-pop. at 27c



Day2: "Still just a potato..."



Day3: Prepare bucket with clay pebble bed...



Day3: Fill bucket with coco-fibre n soil mix (9:1 parts).



Day3: Seedling hatch and anchor tap-root into soil substrait.



Day4: Water-in coco/soil substrait and place seedling into bucket.


*The above was run in a heated glasshouse during late march, in N. Europe.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

The aim of this out-test is to judge the cultivar and assess soil preference.

Cultivation Report #2 : Grow Period to follow...

peace n Chitral
DocLeaf

 

[DocLeaf]

AN APPEAL!

AN APPEAL!

THE APPEAL!

We are calling all like-minded ganja growers into similar action...the butt shouldn't stop with this report into the cultivar 'Chitral'... it would be really cool if some experienced growers could start compiling there own reports on landbased genetics to share with other growers (be they 'retail' or 'direct source' landbased genetics).

Some 'common' retail varieties that might warrant investigation into the specific relationship between plant-type and soil morphology may include: Hawaiian Mauwie Wowie, Afghan #1 (indica aspect), Haze (sativa aspect), Spice (Hawaiian), Armageddon47 (Indian),,, and so on....

 

[DocLeaf]

soil (hydro)-morphology test:

a coco/soil mix (9:1 parts) plus sea-bird guano, on a clay-pebble bed.



The 'Outsider' are planted at a slighlty lower profile on a bar of compost.
The edges (base-line) sit much lower than centre and soil bar at top to create a valley/ridge effect.



The aim behind this morphological system is to provide a free-draining substrait for the 'Chitral', with a heavier soil wash for the 'Outsider'. While the 'Mossad' sits in-between

The main focus/objective is to measure the preference of seedling, while watering the Chitral as little as possible; the lower level strains soaking up the remaining water...
The spacing allows for males...

peace n bloom
Dleaf

 

[DocLeaf]

Update:

Pricking-out n Transplanting Chitral -



three in a bed, hmmm, the ickle one said...



pepple bound: this Chitral sits in coco/soil/pebble mix.
she (think positive) will be watered/fed as little as possible.

 

[DocLeaf]

This 'Chitral' thing is a 'pet-project'. Kindda like 'an armchair cultivar guide' to a specific geographical region and the ganja it supports.

Geo-politically Chitral sits nestled in a valley not far from the Dorah Pass on the Afghan boarder. This mountain pass has provided a safe route between Afghanistan and Pakistan/India for centuries.

For this reason, a mutual interest in Cannabis indica 'afghanica' (a generic term) naturally arises.

The following is an extract from 'An Unexpected Light - Travels in Afghanistan' by Jason Elliot

"At the base of the slope, along a path shaded by high walls of wild cannabis, there was an orchard of apricot, apple and walnut trees. I had the habit of wandering there and writing my diary by the stream". (p105)

The above is exactly the sort of contextual info. we is looking for

Three recurrent themes in the study of this region arise:

1) Cannabis indica 'chitral' and 'afghanica' has the ability to grow tall.

2) Both are found in cultivated and wild species.

3) Walnut trees and orchards seem to feature often*

*think me gonna have to look at the life-history of native Walnuts also... lol


Please feel free to contribute any ideas folks (this paper will be upload (perhaps here if Gypsy agrees) for one and all to read,,, all contributions cited)

peace n bloom dLeaf

 

[DocLeaf]

QUESTIONS

a) Does anyone know anything about the specific history of the cultivar Chitral ???

I've always assumed it as follows,,,, could be way off track

IBL Chitral Valley, Pakistan --> to --> Positronics, NL. [1980's]

Chitral (x Skunk) by Positronics, NL --> to ---> Nirvana Seeds B.V. NL and Homegrown Fantaseeds, NL [1990's].

b) Can anyone suggest if the Chitral used in the 1980's was a wild or cultivated strain ???

C) Was this strain bought back to Europe by Mr Dronkers???


please help cast light unto shadow folks...
peace
dLeaf


"Feed me ganja weed. Always notorious.."

 

[DocLeaf]

Update

the top layer of substrait is now starting to dry...


the lines represent the 'expected' water course.

water/feed will be placed in the zone between the Chritral and Mossad to replicate melting snow ***


the Chitral sits on a heavier base, with more pebbles...

peace dL

*** just had a crazy idea, might place a chunk of ice on the top and let it melt

Anyone know if ya can freeze nutrients???

 

[BeAn]

Wicked report man.. this is gonna be good.

Wicked report man.. this is gonna be good.

lol, Doc dizzzle Leaf.


You crazy man..

I would have thaught that freezing nutrients would kill all the active ingreidients, it says on the back of bio-bizz products to keep them above a certain tempreture.... But i might be wrong. try it and see.

 

[DocLeaf]

pon yo learn yo grow, huh? hehe

freezing nutes thread: http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=26593

 

[zamalito]

Great project Mr. Leaf,

I've got a few books I'm trying to find as I didn't even look at this thread until just now. Its great to see a grower going about things scientifically. In the meantime until I locate a few things I'd like to offer a little information you probably already know. Citral along with mazar-i-sharif and kandahari are all technically hindu kush varieties. Perhaps a paper about citral should mention and discuss the differences between these landrace. The terrain separates these regions so well that they can form different individual adaptations to very similar environments from a very similar ancestry. These three regions all have very dry summers and the little precipitation they recieve is during the winter. Forunately when the snow melts during the spring and summer it is used for irrigation. This system allows the farmers to ration out water based on the flow and supply of what was provided to them over the winter. This environment also obviously facilitates hashish production. Again this is probably info you already had and I will spend the next 2-3 days digging up what I can for you as this is a very admirable project. Unfortunately many of the dutch cultivars of various landrace represent a small portion of the traits available from that region many times they aren't even an accurate depiction and more a selection of traits that fits indoor the growing style. Sadly this region at least was and maybe still is off limits to those with american passports for quite some time. Its somewhat unrelated but drgreenthumb has a phenomenal kashmiri landrace collected by those who wish to preserve a true indica landrace that is the same as it was 1000 yrs ago. Kashmir is also a region many western passports are not allowed to travel. I also worry that the great indicas are going the way of many of the great sativas and getting hybridized in their region of origin. We definitely need a call to action to brave cannabis warriors/adventurers who wish to collect some of these.

 

[zamalito]

I know somewhere I have a published university of mississippi paper I got sasha shulgin sent me after requesting info on gc analysis of landrace cannabis. I think the paper just labeled all of the varieties from pakistan as pakistani but it does list physical traits and thc thcv cbd and cdb concentrations of this. I'm pretty sure ill be able to find it before I go back home in a few days but if not I'll pm you shulgin's address to write and get copies of these papers.

You also inspired me to crack some of these kashmiri seeds. After I come back down from the mountains around xmas ill give you guys a detailed report. I was too scared to crack them for outside because of their rareness and value and fear they'd be eaten by dear or weather mold, etc. I was gonna wait til I could crack them for an inside setup but at least this way ill be able to see what they do in a real outdoor environment. Hey, its in the name of science, right?

 

[DocLeaf]

Thanks Zamalito, any info. would be greatly welcomed

The 'Chitral' Cultivar Report will include a mix of 'science' and 'culture'.

The cultural aspects of procreation/cultivation within the region are truely fascinating. As is the geography of the landscape and it's peoples.

As a mountainous 'tribal zone', travel into the Hindu Kush (by backpakers) is rare, and many of it's secrets remain unknown. For this reason, an armchair voyage into Chitral, seems the only route at present ...

Once again thanks for the comments,
peace DocLeaf

 

[DocLeaf]

Great project Mr. Leaf,

Citral along with mazar-i-sharif and kandahari are all technically hindu kush varieties.

Yep, its rather broad sweeping... lol

The terms 'Hindu Kush', and 'indica' are generic words.

Hindu Kush - vast region stretching from Afghanistan, across Pakistan NWF, S. Tajikistan and S.W. China

indica - used to describe varieties of cannabis falling in the lands to the 'west' of the River Indus.

Mel Franks suggests that: "Afghan* and Kush are often interchangable, and growers interchange the names enough so that either description may apply. Kush are generally slightly taller than Afghan* and the leaves are between Afghan* and sativas in both broadness of blades and in color."

*Franks uses the word Afghani which is the Afghan currency.
The correct use being Afghan or 'afghanica' as in something from Afghanistan. The term 'Afghansty' is also sometimes used with soviets.

peace dLeaf

 

[zamalito]

I still haven't found the paper but its probably not of extreme importance to your work anyways, however I located what clarke has to say on the subject which is pretty interesting. Interestingly the cannabis of this region is of two phenos one is landrace sativa 5-9 ft tall and similar to nepalese or kashmiri landrace with long narrow leaves and having sweet spicy fluffy flowers that cover the whole branch starting at the node. The other pheno among kunar valley/chitral cannabis is imported indica that appeared in the late 70s and is very similar to the more modern kashmir indicas that were brought in for commercial charas production from afghanistan. Mel frank in a segment on pakistani cannabis talks about growing out a group of pakistani seeds of varyious regions of that country. One of these varieties he described as having the narrowest long and delicate sativa like leaves he'd ever seen. They were 7 ft tall and very long graceful and profuse branching. Large lightweight flowers of such profusion they obscired the branches. The branches actually hung down at the weight of the buds making it look like a dense fountain of buds. Pure white flowers of unusually long stigmas. Though potency was only good but taste was exceptionally sweet. They matured by the end of september.This sounds very close to clarke's description of chitral and is probably from the region. While the people of this region are more close culturally to the people of afghanistan than pakistan the fact that they smoke charas instead of hashish and their cannabis is similar to nepalese/kashmir landrace makes me think that their cannabis culture is from nepal/north india.

"The first rubbed pakistani hashish in the us seen in 1972 was shaped into slabs that fit inside the soles of sandals that were worn through customs by a travelling college student. The slabs were shiny and dark brown on the outside but lighter brown on the inside. When still fresh this hashish was spicy earthy smelling and very strong, but it tended to dry out quickly and lose its flavor. This pakistani hashish was not like traditional afghani hashish of the time nor did it resemble commercial afghani or pakistani hashish that soon flooded the market. The small shipment of high quality hashish made from local chitral cannabis, a tall narrow leafed variety much like the native north indian, kashmiri, or nepales cannabis. It is not known if the plants it was made from were cultivated or wild. During the 1980s, pakistan became the major transit juncture for afghani hashish and also becam one of the largest producers of commercial quality hashish." So it appears the fine quality chitrali charas of the 70s was made from sativa plants that probably exist no longer unfortunately. What is sold as chitral among the dutch seed companies is probably been grown in that region for only about ten years before dronkers obtained it.

 

[DocLeaf]

What is sold as chitral among the dutch seed companies is probably been grown in that region for only about ten years before dronkers obtained it.

Introduced by the mujaheddin* during the soviet occupation of Afghanistan.

Very interesting stuff zamalito

I'd always assumed that Chitral lineage worked in symbiosis with the Kalash : that is the Kafir** (rumoured to be the descendant of the armies of Alexander the Great).

It does make more logical sense that a 'cultivated' variety of 'indica' or 'afghanica' was introduced later from the Pashtun peoples of N. Afghanistan, or Tajik, or even by Russian mujaheddin*. I forget that beyond Chitral, into Afghanistan, things get rather wild, there are few laws, few restraits, few boundaries - other than those crafted by the land... at which point mankind (and women) is reduced to the very embers upon which life is barely able to exist. from therein anything is possible...

Why wait for a 15 week sativa , when you can double-crop an 8week indica (in Afghan fashion at 5 and 9 week) and pull x2 loads of hashish into market before Winter sets in. The 'afghanica'/indica are also far more suited to higher altitudes inhabited by the mujaheddin*.

thanks for the enlightenment dude,,, yo really got me thinking
keep it flowing...

peace dL

* mujaheddin translates as "those who struggle"

** Kafir = "non-believers" - an Arabic term meaning 'a person who hides, denies, or covers the truth'.

 

[DocLeaf]

The first rubbed pakistani hashish in the us seen in 1972...The slabs were shiny and dark brown on the outside but lighter brown on the inside. This pakistani hashish was not like traditional afghani hashish of the time nor did it resemble commercial afghani or pakistani hashish that soon flooded the market.

I hear you, growing-up in the UK Afghan resin used to be like eggs... everywhere and often... we got to sample the range... lol
the best charas/hashish is hand rubbed, from sativa, in India, IMO.