Variances within Malawi Gold?

[qanabose]

I've been growing Malawi Gold pretty consistently over the last several years (amongst other things) and can't really get passed them for a number of reasons that connoisseurs of high end sativas might appreciate.

But I've grown Malawis from a number of different sources and see striking variances from one batch to another, however the genetic spread expressed within each batch seems to hold consistent enough within themselves that there's nothing which suggests obvious tampering or hybridisation to conclude that any of them actually fell short of landrace.

I'm wondering if other Malawi growers have seen variances within what goes under the name of "Malawi Gold" and would anyone know anything of the genetic diversity existing within this landrace strain, please speak up?

QB

 

[Elevator Man]

I've only grown out a couple of phenos from Seedsman Seeds, which I think ultimately came from the African Seeds stock, and some phenos of the hybrid I made with Flo - 'Goldfinger' - so I'm not equipped to comment on other 'brands' as such - however, there seemed to be two distinct types within those, and the hybrid.

One was a long-limbed pheno, that likes to create a 'wineglass' shape when topped:



The other one, sadly no longer in the gallery, was a more 'creeper/pole' type with very short branches that stayed close to the main stem, and larger shade leaves - similar to the shape pictured under MG in Marijuana Botany. However, this could easily be trained into any shape, so it wasn't hard to grow, but was more susceptible to mites.

Both phenos had very leafy buds with no resin on them, which meant a nightmare of trimming, but the remaining resin-covered parts were sublime, with a floral/spicy/carrot scent, though the 15-week flower period was hard work.

Most of the traits I found bothersome have been removed in the F1 of Goldfinger, but I would imagine the F2s would throw up many more of the above - hopefully I'll find out later in the year!

 

[endlesssummer]

from the grows i have seen there seems to be 2 more frequent phenos and a 3rd one..


if you want to look into Marijuana Botany elevator man talked about, you can see it on google books

 

[southpaw76]

Hey guys, I'm wondering if there are any pure bred Malawi's with tighter bud structure or do they all look mostly like typical sativa foxtails?

 

[C21H30O2]

I believe Malawi Gold refers to all strains from the country of Malawi. The country has many hill, mountains, and valleys, the latter of which are often used for cultivation. These individual valley plots are grown for many generations inbreeding and creating a strain unique to that valley. Though they are similar there are many phenotypes of Malawi because of local cultivation practices.

 

[marijuanamat]

I've got alot of malawi gold originally from african seeds via seedsman and out of the 20-30 plants i've grown from the line all the females had a similar lemon/lime aroma/flavour and up high.Even the offspring from to original malawi gold seeds i inbred have the same christmas tree shaped growth pattern and lemon/lime aroma/flavour.
This is the only malawi gold line i've grown so can't comment on others.

 

[qanabose]

C21H3002, Thanks for bringing this up. I gather this seems to be the norm for a lot if not all landrace strains...there's the generic name and then there's the genetic diversity within what's held by the local growers of the region. I was reminded of this recently when I was researching out Zamal from La Reunion Island. I thought this was a specific strain too but I was taken back when I found out that it is really just the local word for ganja in that part of the world.

The earliest Malawis I did came from Chris at African Seeds and were consistent, but were apparantly gathered from wild seed. They had some fertility problems, a very unique and unforgetable smell and flavour that I found superb. They were pretty leggy and lean in the grow and required a lot of patience at flowering time.

More recently I've grown out Afropips version which was supposed to be a select cultivar from the region. I was surprised to find these were substantially better in pretty much every respect. They display a vigor which is rarely seen and are also very consistent. They also put more into lateral growth and the buds were more interconnected and compact and resinous. This smoke is simply delicious and the high is definitely in the cocaine end of the sativa spectrum.

I was a bit late getting back to my 2007 males and ended up with a mass of unexpected beans on board. These ended up being very large considering the amount of beans that were carrying at the time. Remarkably, I still ended up with a decent harvest of primo smoke by the time I'd seperated the beans out. I've found these to be an exceptional experience both to grow and to smoke.

 

[C Qual]

Malawi

Malawi

Anyone grown and tested for THCV, yet?

 

[jim dankness]

Anyone grown and tested for THCV, yet?

I thought I would list a lot of the old MYTHS going around, in no order.

#1 THCV gets you really high and makes THC much better.

FACT: THCV does not get you high, and is a THC antagonist.

 

[C Qual]

Malawi

Malawi

I guess you haven't. ...but thanks for replying anyway. If anyone has grown and tested it, I'd be interested in knowing what results they got.

 

[medmaker420]

so which breeders have the legit malawi?

more close or closest to landrace?

I have wanted malawi and heard nothing but good about it.

 

[amoril]

there's a difference in being an antagonist, and non-psychoactive.

it binds to the CB1 receptor, it is psychoactive, it IS an analogue/isomer of THC, and delays the binding of the THC.....I dont see why we would assume its pointless to test for?

 

[jim dankness]

nope, haven't tested it myself. i was just gently reminding all readers that THCV is not the 'holy grail' of cannabinoids (no matter what Jason King might imply).

amoril your point is well-taken, but personally i'm sticking with Sam on this one. he states multiple times around here that THCV lowers the subjective effects of THC and is pretty firm on his statement that THCV in combination with THC does not make you higher AT ALL. that sounds pretty 'non-psychoactive' to me.

but hey, to each their own...

 

[nepalnt21]

just saying... thc also isnt the "holy grail"

i seem to remember sam saying something abut how pure thc isnt all that great (paraphrased, of course)

my GOODNESS your photos are ALWAYS boner inspiring!

 

[C Qual]

Malawi, Chitral,...?)

Malawi, Chitral,...?)

Thanks for the interest.
I'm wondering if anyone on here has ever tested any plant for THCV.....I'm wondering if maybe a more acid (ph) soil will give you a higher THCV%. Yes, I am looking for a cb1 antagonist, but I'm postulating that its not simply just a matter of genetics(Malawi, Chitral,....???.) I saw in the last Shaughnessy's that growing in shade will produce higher CBD count. More CBD's could be more complex than just shade.

 

[elmanito]

Its all genetics and has nothing to do with if you grow a plant in the shade or not.You will never find a CBD-specimen with the Malawi strain.I dont even know if Malawi contains any THCV.One way to find out is to smoke it and tell if you get the munchies, if not it contains THCV.

Namaste

 

[amoril]

Its all genetics and has nothing to do with if you grow a plant in the shade or not.You will never find a CBD-specimen with the Malawi strain.I dont even know if Malawi contains any THCV.One way to find out is to smoke it and tell if you get the munchies, if not it contains THCV.

Namaste

lmao. I dont get the munchies, ever. does that mean thcv is a fictitious compound?



all meant in fun....but, i seriously never get the munchies.

 

[Ganja baba]

I've only grown out a couple of phenos from Seedsman Seeds, which I think ultimately came from the African Seeds stock, and some phenos of the hybrid I made with Flo - 'Goldfinger' - so I'm not equipped to comment on other 'brands' as such - however, there seemed to be two distinct types within those, and the hybrid.

One was a long-limbed pheno, that likes to create a 'wineglass' shape when topped:



The other one, sadly no longer in the gallery, was a more 'creeper/pole' type with very short branches that stayed close to the main stem, and larger shade leaves - similar to the shape pictured under MG in Marijuana Botany. However, this could easily be trained into any shape, so it wasn't hard to grow, but was more susceptible to mites.

Both phenos had very leafy buds with no resin on them, which meant a nightmare of trimming, but the remaining resin-covered parts were sublime, with a floral/spicy/carrot scent, though the 15-week flower period was hard work.

Most of the traits I found bothersome have been removed in the F1 of Goldfinger, but I would imagine the F2s would throw up many more of the above - hopefully I'll find out later in the year!

that looks just like the sk1 i just grew from seedsman went 17 weeks had no smell , or resin then right at the end it stunk of fruity sativa , not a nice or strong smoke ,
it is like this sk1 batch was pollinated in africa , thats what i thought at the time , it looks just the same as yours

the afghan 1 from them on the other hand was spot on .

 

[amoril]

nope, haven't tested it myself. i was just gently reminding all readers that THCV is not the 'holy grail' of cannabinoids (no matter what Jason King might imply).

amoril your point is well-taken, but personally i'm sticking with Sam on this one. he states multiple times around here that THCV lowers the subjective effects of THC and is pretty firm on his statement that THCV in combination with THC does not make you higher AT ALL. that sounds pretty 'non-psychoactive' to me.

but hey, to each their own...

not trying to get into a big debate....but there's a glaring fallacy with your statement.

we both agree that it's a THC antagonist. what we disagree on is that it has any psychoactive merit.

it seems illogical to assume that a cannabinoid, in an isomerized form of THC, has no psychoactive capability when bound to the CB1 receptor.

SamS' statement refers to a high. THCV may very well not have a euphoric, sensational high associated with it, but that doesnt mean it has no psychoactivity, as in altering the brains function chemically. As he and many others have stated previously, its the overall cocktail of cannabinoids that combine to form each strain, and each plants, unique forms of high.

 

[elmanito]

lmao. I dont get the munchies, ever. does that mean thcv is a fictitious compound?
all meant in fun....but, i seriously never get the munchies.

Thats a question i cant answer, cause i cant look into your brain whats happening while you smoke a joint or what you smoke.Have you ever smoked any good Thai (homegrown) or Haze????

Namaste