Chillard's White Angel Leaf Update

[deluxestogie]

JBD, Does the Chillard's taste or smell like a burley? All of my Chillard's White Angel Leaf look like a white-stem burley, which would likely taste pretty crummy if flue-cured. I'm thinking that it might make some excellent, light brown cigar wrappers, if its burley qualities are subdued.

It also reminds me of the Besuki that I grew last year, ignoring the cream-colored peculiarity. But the Besuki also looked like a burley, with very light stems, and a yellow mottled leaf color. The mottling of the Besuki vanished during color-curing.

Bob

 

[Jitterbugdude]

Bob, I'm not really sure what to classify if as. The 2 that I have growing in my fertile tobacco garden could be Burley, but the 1 I have growing in poor soil could be a Turkish. I plan to take some pics later today. My small Turkish type plant has a completely white stalk with completely white leaves. The fertile one's still have green stalks and partially white leaves.

 

[deluxestogie]

Status of My Chillard's

These examples of Chillard's White Angel Leaf were transplanted 60 days ago.

Stem angle of 10th leaf is approximately 55º.

GRIN documentation of leaf width and length, as well as stem angle, always refer to the 10th leaf.

Note the bright white leaf stem. Leaf tip is acute. Surface of 9th leaf shows "alligator" texture of maturity.

Leaf margins are perfectly flat, as are the lamina.

In the photo below, the bottom leaf can be compared to the adjacent Columbian Garcia bottom leaf.

The conformation of the leaf auricle, and how it descends the stalk is seldom of interest, other than during attempts to identify a specific, unknown variety with an example of a known variety.

I will bag this head today.

Bob

 

[rustycase]

Another great addition to this write-up, Bob.
Thanks!

Is that 10th leaf criteria applicable at 60 days, by definition?
rc


...Sounds like Randy has some difference in plants, depending upon soil fertility... or could it be the strain is not quite stable ?
Along the way I have missed, or forgotten it's pedigree. ...but it does have an interesting name!

.

 

[deluxestogie]

Is that 10th leaf criteria applicable at 60 days, by definition?
...it's pedigree. ...interesting name!

The size measurement date is not defined. The presumption is that the plant has fully grown.

Pedigree is in this thread.

The name was proposed by Chillardbee.

Bob

 

[Jitterbugdude]

Seems to be quite a bit of variation.

Here is my little plant, the leaves turn pure white.



And so is the stalk:




By comparison, the 2 plants in the fertile garden are not as white. The stalk is green too but maybe this will change in a few weeks.



Green stalk:

 

[deluxestogie]

Damn! Those are really white. The leaf characteristics of the little one seem identical to the larger ones--only smaller and whiter. They're not Besuki.

Is the all white plant still growing?

Eight of mine are pretty much medium height (~5'), while the ninth was planted later.

The contemporary historical report about the first crop of white burley clearly stated that the seedlings were sickly and slow growing. Mine were all healthy and vigorous.

Chillardbee has come up with a honey of a plant!

Bob

 

[Jitterbugdude]

Yes, my all white plant is still growing but I've primed it twice so there's not that many leaves on it. Good thing I bagged the seed head.

 

[ProfessorPangloss]

I wonder if the variations in the coloring may indicate something else at work *in addition to* the genetics. Perhaps some nutrient/element presence or deficiency that shows up in this plant more than others. Like hydrangeas.

cant wait til next year when we can farm it out to more people and apply more SCIENCE.

 

[deluxestogie]

cant wait til next year when we can farm it out to more people and apply more SCIENCE.

This year's grow of Chillard's White Angel Leaf was mostly aimed at:

• verifying that Chillardbee is not crazy as a loon.
• it's really white?
• what class of tobacco is it?
• does it cure and smoke nicely enough to bother with an otherwise unidentifiable plant?

If you would like to undertake detailed nutrient uptake studies with it next year, I'm sure we can provide some seed.

Bob

 

[Matty]

All the recent leaf pictures really look like the virginias I've grown the past 2 years. Paper white stems, pale green to white lamina and a very slick waxy feel to the leaf. Strains were smoking virginia and canadian virginia. I harvested several hundred full sized leaves last year that where nearly white, some a bit beige and some even slightly pink. Air curing produced colors from pale beige to light brown.

 

[deluxestogie]

Removing All Doubt

I've carefully examined all nine of my Chillard's White Angel Leaf on many occasions. Some days, I think the pallor in the lower leaves is no different from what I see on Harrow Velvet burley. At other times, I'm convinced that the senescent lower leaves are distinctly whiter than those of any other variety that I've grown.

This morning, I was tossing out the contents of one 1020 tray that had held many eggplant seedlings (all extras) and a couple of tobacco seedlings (homeless orphans). I have been watering them regularly, and keeping them in direct sunlight on my enclosed back porch since early spring. The two tobacco seedlings were Chillards'. The color difference between the upper and bottom leaves was so stark, that I thought it would be worth posting. I intentionally posed the leaves on a red brick paver, to make color balance easy to distinguish. Both leaves are from the same overgrown seedling.

How about that!

Bob

 

[Jitterbugdude]

That is WHITE
The other cool thing I noticed the other day was that I had a sucker and it too was white.

 

[FmGrowit]

I'm more than anxious to see the results of the various ways you guys cure this leaf.

 

[Jitterbugdude]

I've air cured some and it came out a light brown.
I sun cure some and it came out a light brown.
I sun baked some and it came out light brown.
I will flue cure some in about a week.

 

[DGBAMA]

I find it interesting that the white leaf shows no sign of dying, brown tips, morning, etc. Appears otherwise healthy despite the lack of color.

 

[deluxestogie]

That white leaf is definitely not able to manufacture sugars and carbs through photosynthesis. And without carotinoids (yellow or orange pigments), it has incomplete protection from the sun's damage. It can obtain carbs for energy, by transport from other parts of the plant. You'd think that such an arrangement would result in a stunted, short, feeble plant, but they are going over 5', with substantial leaves and a high leaf count.

Perhaps, at this senescent stage, the white leaf is simply consuming its own resources (like the yellow tree leaves of autumn), taking only water from the stalk.

Bob

 

[DGBAMA]

It would be interesting to see a comparison of yield weight vs a "white stem burley". I agree, without chlorophyll it seems like it could not make much " substance ", but rather is being supported by the rest of the plant. Starting with equal weight of Golden Burley or YTB and the same weight of this one, as harvested, then compare the cured weight.

 

[chillardbee]

This year's grow of Chillard's White Angel Leaf was mostly aimed at:

• verifying that Chillardbee is not crazy as a loon.
• it's really white?
• what class of tobacco is it?
• does it cure and smoke nicely enough to bother with an otherwise unidentifiable plant?

If you would like to undertake detailed nutrient uptake studies with it next year, I'm sure we can provide some seed.

Bob

Oh, I'm crazy, I'm sure. I might be colour blind though. Maybe I've looked at so much green that green has become my new white .

 

[Jitterbugdude]

How cool is this? White seed pods!