Genetics: Pure Manipuri Ganja Plant
Latitude: 24°N
Regional Harvest: mid December to mid January
Height: 1m - 4m in natural outdoor environment
Yield: up to1kg or more of dried flowers in natural outdoor environment
Aroma: earthy, light citrus, minty when cured
Characteristics: strong 'sativa' high, smooth smoking
Traditional Purpose: ganja
Grow Type: greenhouse or outdoors
A surprisingly strong 'sativa' from the traditional ganja growing region of Imphal Valley, Manipur. Rare and little known in the West.
The Meitei people of Manipur have a long tradition of growing strong ganja, and are related to the Shan and Thai; like them the Meitei originally migrated south to their present home from Yunnan, China. Manipur is in Northeast India, on the border with Burma - ganja culture here is at the frontier of India, to the west, and Indochina to the east. The genetics of this strain may reflect this.
Manipuri ganja plants can grow up to 4 metres tall. Most are green with a light earthy citrus aroma, curing to smooth minty ganja. A minority of plants are purple; this is the prized 'chahao' type ('chahao' being the Meitei name for black rice). Fields are usually sown around June to July and harvested in December to January. Females are usually allowed to be lightly seeded. The traditional technique is to semi dry buds, then bind them tightly with cloth and leave them for one day. Once bound together like this buds are then unpackaged and left to dry in the sun, after which they are cured for a couple of months. Even after such rough treatment this Manipuri strain is surprisingly strong, as strong as good Thai or Lao ganja, and smokes very smoothly. It would be very interesting to see how these plants perform with kinder Western techniques. Little seen genetics with promising breeding potential.
