Parental strain of Xanthi

[SmokeStack]

I want to grow Yenidje this year and I had a difficult time locating seeds (Xanthi Yaka 18A). I found a website that sold Yenidje seeds and so I emailed the owner and asked if the Yenidje seeds are the same as Xanthi Yaka 18A. The owner replied by saying that the Yenidje seeds are "the parental strain of Xanthi tobacco from Turkey." I don't really know how to interpret his reply. Are there more than one strain of Yenidje? Can anyone shed some light?

 

[deluxestogie]

Xanthi Yaka is from the town of Xanthi in Macedonian Greece. The town of Yenidje (also spelled Yenice) is lower down in the same valley, and was destroyed in the mid 19th century. All their tobacco growing was move up the valley to Xanthi at that time. Although the town of Yenidje has since been rebuilt, the famous "Yenidje tobacco" comes exclusively from the growing regions on the lower slopes of the Rhodope, surrounding the town of Xanthi. Xanthi Yaka #18A is an ARS-GRIN accession (PI 552418) provided to the USDA by the Greek government in 1962.

(Xanthi Djebel is grown higher on the slopes, and is not as fine a quality strain.)

PM your mailing info and I will send you some seed.

Bob

 

[istanbulin]

I want to grow Yenidje this year and I had a difficult time locating seeds (Xanthi Yaka 18A). I found a website that sold Yenidje seeds and so I emailed the owner and asked if the Yenidje seeds are the same as Xanthi Yaka 18A. The owner replied by saying that the Yenidje seeds are "the parental strain of Xanthi tobacco from Turkey." I don't really know how to interpret his reply. Are there more than one strain of Yenidje? Can anyone shed some light?

I posted same like this on Marmara Region strains. Yenice has same ancestors with Greek Genisea (Yenice) which is located in Xanthi (İskeçe). Within the demographic exchange with Turkey and Greece in 20s (Threaty of Lousanne) seeds were exchanged with folks too.
After the Turkish War of Independence Turks living in Xanthi are sattled to Gümüşhacıköy, they bring seeds from Xanthi. Furthermore Greeks living in Yenice in Turkey moved to Xanthi they bring Yenice seeds to Xanthi. As Bob said the town was rebuilt on the lower slopes. Its because the living system difference between Greeks and Turks (also there was a war, town might be destroyed). While Greek settlements are located on the hills, Turks prefered to settle down on more plain areas. Also they give the name of the city where they came from Genisea, Yenidje or Yenice.
But there is an interesting point that while there was no tobacco production in Gümüşhacıköy before exchange, there was a tobacco production culture in Xanthi. Todays Greek Yenice tobaccos should be a hybrid of Turkish Yenice and Xanthi but there is still Turkish Yenice grown here. They may have different taste, I did not try them stand alone.