CBD seeds

Soft Secrets talked to Dinafem about its new CBD-rich products resulting from the largest and best known selection of CBD-rich plants, a demanding work for consumers to enjoy strains rich in CBD but also low in THC. In an interview given to Dinafem in 2012, the leading breeder Dr Kush announced the bank’s intention to launch a line of CBD-rich strains. This wish dates back to the early days of the seed bank, when Dr Kush designed - on paper - a very special, easy-to-grow, self-flowering strain rich in CBD and with lively colours. Ten years later, this project is going great. The focus on Cannabidiol derives from the fact that, for personal reasons, Dr Kush has always been interested in medical cannabis, as well as in the responsible use of recreational cannabis with strains having no ultimately devastating effects. When the CBD vegetable enhancement project was launched, it was clear that this would be done as professionally as possible, for solid and constant results to be achieved in CBD-enhanced strains. At Dinafem they did not spare any efforts and means to produce the widest and most careful selection ever made and achieve excellence in all possible respects, from the starting seeds through to the used technical instrumentation and human resources. As Dr Kush explained, “We found the perfect place, with perfect instruments and perfect genetics. Without doubt, this project has been the most serious that I have had the chance to personally follow - like back in the old days in California, when time-honoured strains such as #Skunk1 were first developed”.

Genetics

For this project, Dinafem aimed to develop the best possible genetic base. After reading the articles of Soft Secrets, Dr Kush knew that Reggae Seeds was at the origin of the current CBD wave. That’s why he asked me to take him to Girona to get to know the main breeder of this bank, Jimi. I remember that day as one of the most extraordinary in my cannabis experience. Jimi and his partner Ana showed us their home and grow rooms and explained many details about the development of these genetics with a full, passionate overview of the past, present and future of CBD-rich cannabis seeds. On that day, we smoked dabs with extracts made from CBD-rich strains and although Dr Kush had never smoked butane extracts, or even particularly loved pipes, on that occasion he smoked at least 15 dabs without losing his concentration. On the following day, he told me he was very surprised that he had no hangover as he woke up, and we went to a local forest to smoke a few dabs of CBD-rich strains that Jimi had given us as a gift. The effect of CBD, i.e. waking up as fresh as a daisy after smoking so many extracts, was so pleasant that Dr Kush realised he was on the right track. That meeting culminated in a final agreement whereby Dinafem purchased a batch of 4,000 regular seeds of Dancehall, and Dr Kush offered to pay a much higher price than that quoted by Jimi, as a sign of respect for the breeder’s work, because Dinafem was not purchasing mere seeds in bulk but rather a valid genetic base. As a further self-imposed reward, Dr Kush promised Jimi that the selected parents would be recognised as a “Reggae Seeds” genetic selection. Other seed banks offering CBD genetics, instead, are not properly transparent on the origins of their CBD-rich strains. That day I could acknowledge the value of Dinafem, among the other banks offering Reggae Seeds genetics with CBD-rich strains, for its ability to recognise and justly reward the breeding work done. Dancehall is a crossbreed between two of the leading Reggae Seeds plants, a mythical “Juanita la Lagrimosa” mother and a Kalijah (Blue Heaven x New York City Diesel) father – through which CBD made its entrance into the Reggae Seeds collection. As it inherited CBD from both of its parents, it is the most promising regular Reggae Seeds strain to be used for a good selection of CBD-rich seeds. Under the name of Dancehall, this strain obtained more than 12 awards and trophies such as those of Fuerteventura, Miranda de Ebro, Catalunya Grows, Badalona, Alicante and the Cannabis Champions Cup. Cannatonic, probably a phenotype of Dancehall, is the best award-winning Iberian strain in history, with more than 20 international awards, as already featured in this magazine. Without question, the project started from a vantage point: Dancehall is the leading plant of the CBD wave, as confirmed by its numerous awards won. Analysis Before initiating its CBD selection procedure, Dinafem wanted to have all the tools required for the project ready. The finishing touches were given in 2012, when materials were purchased and a lab engineer was recruited to carry out gas chromatography tests. In the early 2-year phase, this engineer (Dr Ananda), and a team of breeders (Dr O3 and Dr Kush), devoted themselves to the enhancement of self-flowering strains by using gas chromatography. A lab was rented, where Dr Ananda gained experience in the use of analytical techniques. Later, in June 2014, they purchased genetics from Jimi and the necessary materials to start up their own private laboratory. For the analysis division to operate, a sizeable investment in tools was needed to purchase e.g. a precision weighing instrument, an ultrasound dilution kit, a centrifuge and, of course, a gas chromatographer and patterns for major cannabinoids. Patterns are used as reference for the chromatographer to make comparisons with the sample to be tested. Time, investments and work were needed to procure them and a special refrigerator was also purchased to keep patterns at a low temperature. Currently, Dinafem is working with 7 patterns of different cannabinoids. When all materials were installed, a specialised technician from the vendor of the gas chromatographer ran a test. All installation, calibration and control procedures were run by Dinafem’s technician, Dr Ananda, for a few months, based on his background as lab technician and his previous 2-year experience in the management of chromatographers for the vegetable enhancement of self-flowering strains. He spent full weeks of work to fix the problem of ghost substances, i.e. small contaminations that occur during the procedure. He had to identify the sources of distortion and remove them. Everything was very complex and demanding. Tools and instruments were purchased for the CBD project but, after the technical improvements made, they were also crucial for Dinafem to select self-flowering plants.

Grow-room installation

At the time of growing and selecting plants, the best instrumentation and staff were used and spaces were divided and perfectly fitted without leaving out any details – each grow room was airtight, with negative air flows, so as to avoid any contamination between crops. All room conditions were fully controlled and automated, i.e. temperature, humidity, ventilation, irrigation, pH or EC – making it a true paradise for plants to thrive. Selection Germination was massive for the widest selection ever made by Dinafem, because the intention was to pick the best individuals from a large group, for the selected plants to present the best traits of this strain. The density of plants was very high, with up to 4 plants per pot. When many plants are planted in the same pot, they fight to gain space and, ultimately, one of the plants lags behind and is unable to catch up because the other plants grow and stifle it. When a plant lags behind, it is removed. This early selection operation is tedious. In addition, male plants are placed in another special room and any plants with malformations or weaknesses are discarded, so as to have only a few females left for them to grow vigorously without any malformations or unwanted alterations.

Lab tests

When the initial seedlings were reduced to one fourth, breeders had to perform massive tests, in accordance with the best practices for laboratory analysis. However, in doing so, they met with difficulties throughout the full process, from the taking of samples to the testing phase. Samples had to be collected almost simultaneously - occasionally from similar plant parts. Testing so many samples was a real challenge, not merely for the tested volumes but also for the intensive use of instruments. After tests, charts were prepared showing the CBD and THC values for each plant, as well as the group average. Only one fourth of plants had very high CBD values. As a result, three fourths of the total population were discarded, further cut and piled up to produce compost. This first round of tests, made during the plant growth, only showed the predominance of one type or another of cannabinoid, but not its ultimate content. In the blooming phase, 3 more tests were performed at various stages following the ripening of flowers, in order to obtain absolutely accurate cannabinoid profiles; concurrently, plants in the last positions were discarded for their poor visual, organoleptic and quantitative characteristics (among which smell, structure, stem and flower sizes). A final selection was made from ten individuals, whose morphological characteristics were carefully examined, followed by a final tasting session. Ultimately, the winners were two extraordinary females. The finalist was #654 with a 19.84% CBD content and a 0.86% THC content, meaning a CBD:THC ratio of 20:1. The semi-finalist was #685, whose cannabinoid content was slightly lower, but it had a similar ratio and sativa structure, with a higher yield. This plant will be used as seed producer for sativa-dominant strains. The CBD average in the finalist population did not achieve 15%. Even among the selected males, best performers with a 5% CBD content were selected (vs. an average 3% in the total population).

Selection of CBD-rich plants:

After selecting the two CBD-rich females, Dinafem moved on to the production of plants that they would present for the current season. The people at Dinafem believe that what makes the difference in the final quality is working on males. For instance, Bubba Kush was crossed with Dancehall #654. With their offspring they made other massive selections until two parents were achieved that retained a few characteristics of Bubba Kush, but with a good percentage of cannabidiol. These selections were in turn used as males in the production of Bubba Kush CBD. All of these new strains were stably rich in CBD, with levels equal to or in excess of that of THC. In general, they had a CBD:THC ratio of around 1:1, although a ratio of 2:1 was also noted. OG Kush CBD OG Kush is the most famous strain on the American market, with high potency and the power to dry out your mouth at the first puff. This version has dense and savoury aerial parts, with a distinctive, intense aroma characterised by touches of pine and lemon and a dense smoke. It has inherited the high cannabinoid level of its parents, but with its high CBD content, the final effect is more balanced without being mind-smashing.

Bubba Kush CBD

This strain required hard work, in which an effort was made to retain the parental characteristics, such as a large quantity of resin, an intense earthy taste, and an indica morphological structure with a stout stem, bushiness and a purplish colour.

Amnesia CBD

This strain has fully inherited the sativa part of its mother, the famous Original Amnesia, which owes its name to Dinafem’s genuine genetics of the legendary Amnesia Haze, directly supplied from the original source. Blooming time is reduced, but yield is rich – the topmost of the full CBD range. Its effect is cheerful and sativa-like, while remaining pleasant and without excesses.

Cheese CBD

This version retains the penetrating aroma and taste of Cheese, which dominates in all phenotypes and, on many occasions, presents a sativa structure, with thin leaves. In a few cases, it yields large quantities of CBD, with a minimum guaranteed 1:1 ratio.

Purple Orange CBD

In addition to the selection of Reggae Seeds, Dinafem has developed another parallel production line based on a Lemon Diesel sourced from California, which was selected to create a Purple Orange CBD – meaning it is the only European strain with CBD that uses genetics with direct US origin. In this selection process, the breeders noticed a lot of similarities between the European and American lines, i.e. factors such as a fresh and dry taste, flowering time, branching, leaf shape, colour and flavour. All of these similarities suggested to Dinafem that, in actual fact, the New York City Diesel line, which originally introduced CBD in Europe, is not from New York but rather from California, meaning that it shares a common past with Lemon Diesel. This further clarifies the origins of CBD-rich strains. You can read the full story of Purple Orange CBD on page 59 of issue 4 of Soft Secrets Spain 2015.

Conclusions

So far CBD enhancement in the produced plants has been much based on selections made with a combination of intuition, luck and a few analyses. Through its own lab, Dinafem has shifted the level of CBD breeding from underground home growing to scientific growing. By H. Madera