Cultivation of Tobacco - ICAR JRF
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| Image Source - Google | Image by - DAWN |
* Botanical name :- Nicotiana app
* Family :- Solanaceae
* Origin :- America and Pacific Island
* Chromosome no :- 2n=48
* Inflorescence :- Panicle
* Fruit Type :- Capsule
Important Facts of Tobacco
- Tobacco was introduced to France and other countries by French Ambassador 'James Nicot'
- The crop was introduced in India by Portuguese in 1605.
- China rank first in world tobacco production.
- India rank third in world tobacco production.
- in Andhrapradesh(Guntur District) tobacco is grown for cigarette.
- Nipani and Belgaon of Karnataka and some area of Gujarat crop is grown for Bidi.
- Andhrapradesh contribute 50% Area and 90% cigarette tobacco production in India.
- Gujarat contribute 50% area under bidi tobacco.
- Hookah tobacco mostly grown in northern states where chirute tobacco grown in Tamil nadu.
- Nicotine is produced mainly in roots and carried through stem to leaves where it is stored.
* Indian Tobacco Species
A) Nicotiana tabaccum
- Taller with 150-180 cm height.
- Flowers are radish, pinkish and white in color.
- Nicotine content in Nicotiana tobacum is 0.5 - 5.5%
- it is used for smoking and chewing purpose.
- N.tobaccum average weight of 1seed is 0.08 - 0.09 mg.
Varieties
- Natural, Adcock, Horrison and Virginia.
B) Nicotiana rustica
- dwarf with 90 - 120 cm height.
- flowers are dull greenish yellow in color.
- Nicotine content is 3.5 to 8.0%
- N.rustica used for Hookah, Chewing and snuff purpose.
- N.rustica seeds are larger than N.tobaccum about 3 times.
Varieties
- Calcattiya, motihari.
* Other Varieties
a) Cigarette :- HS-9, Jayashri,Chatham
b) Bidi :- P-19, K-20, K-49, G-6, S-20 and Anand-2
c) Chewing :- MH-28, H-142
Nursery
- Nursery area :-
- about 2-3kg seed are sufficient of 1 ha nursery area.
- seedling of 12-15 cm height with 4-5 leaves are preferred for transplanting in field.
* Climate and Soil
- Rainfall at the time of maturity of tobacco cause washing of gums and resins from leaf.
- Water logging at any stage of growth is deadly harmful.
- Sodic soil is not suitable for tobacco production.
* Some Important Operations in Tobacco
A) Topping
- Topping includes, removal of terminal bud at the emergence of flower head to get better quality of leaves.
B) De-suckering
- After topping, auxiliary buds grow, removal of such branches or sucker known as de-suckering.
C) Priming
- removal of matured leaves from each plant with special knife.
- 5 - 6 priming required for entire harvest.
- priming method of harvesting is popular in cigarette, Wrapper and chewing type.
D) Curing
- removal of moisture from leaves without affecting Aroma, Color and Texture of Tobacco is known as curing.
* Methods of Curing
a) Flue curing
- This methods is used for preparation of tobacco leaves for cigarette.
b) Sun curing
- This method is commonly used for bidi, chewing, hookah, snuf and low grade cigarette.
c) Air cooling
d) fire curing
* Seed rate :- 2.5 - 3.0 kg/ha
* Spacing :- 60 × 90 cm , 90 × 90 cm.
- Topping is most critical stage of irrigation.
- Crop duration time of N.tobaccum is 120-130 days and for N.rustica is 90-105 days.
Plant Protection
A) Diseases
a) Powdery mildew
b) Mosaic and leaf curl
c) Damping off
B) Pest
a) Tobacco Caterpillar
b) Tobacco stem borer
c) Tobacco aphids
- Tobacco Caterpillar is the major pest of tobacco.
Harvesting
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| Image Source - Google | Image by - Cigar Journal |
A) Priming
- removal of matured leaves from each plant with special knife.
- 5 - 6 priming required for entire harvest.
- priming method of harvesting is popular in cigarette, Wrapper and chewing type.
B) Stalk cut method
- This method is used for harvesting tobacco for chewing.
* Yield
- Rainfed area :- 5 - 7 quintile leaves/ha
- Irrigated area :- 10-12 quintile leaves/ha.
Important points related Tobacco
* GTH-1 is the first hybrid variety of tobacco in India.
* Tobacco board is located at Guntur, Andhrapradesh.
* Flue cured Virginia is best tobacco for cigarette.
* Non Virginia type tobacco best for bidi and hookah
*Flue cured Virginia is most exportable type of tobacco.
* White fly is a vector of Tobacco Leaf Curl Virus.
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