This presentation is done by 2010/2011 batch of Export Agriculture students of Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka as a requirement for the subject which is “Rice & Field Crop Production”. Note that the information included here is relevant to Sri Lankan condition.

1. Nicotiana tabacum

2. Introduction
• Native to Central & South America
• Leaves are the economically important
part
• Introduced by Portuguese to South Asia
• High valued cash crop

3. Tobacco production in world
• World production – 6.2 million Mt (2007)
• Extent – 3.7 million ha (2007)
• Major producing countries
China
Brazil
India
USA

4. Tobacco production in SL
• Chewing tobacco
Production – 2438 Mt
Extent – 1302 Ha
• Cigar tobacco
Production – 1327 Mt
Extent – 829 Ha
• Ranked in 62nd place in world production

5. Major producing districts
• Puttalam
• Kurunegala
• Mannar
• Vawniya
• Mathale

6. Classification
• Kindom – Plantae
• Division – Magnoliophyta
• Class – Magnoliopsida
• Order – Solanales
• Family – Solanaceae
• Genus – Nicotiana
• Species - tabacum

7. Cultivated species of Tobacco
• Nicotiana rustia
• Nicotina tabacum

8. Chemical composition
• Economically important chemicals are ,
Nicotine
Nornic

9. Commercial type of Tobacco
• Flue cured Tobacco
• Bidi Tobacco
• Cigar & Cheroot Tobacco
• Chewing Tobacco
• Hokah Tobacco

10. Recommended varieties
Flue cured (Virginia ) Air cured
(Burley)
K 326 Blanket A1
K 399 CSC 202
SPG 108
RGH 4

11. Climatic re
• Tropical crop in origin but can be grown in
subtropical and temperate regions
• Temperature – 15-35C
• Relative Humidity – 85-90%
• Rainfall – 500-1250mm
• Well distributed rainfall through out the
year

12. Suitable soils
• Sandy surface soil – 15-25cm depth
• A yellowish / reddish sandy clay sub soil
depth of 150cm
• PH - 5.5-6.5
• Very low chloride content ( less than 100
ppm)

13. Raising nursery & production of
seedlings
• Types of nurseries
1. Ground bed
2. CD trays and paper pots
3. Float nurseries

14. Float nurseries
• Intensive method
• Not common in SL

15. CD trays & paper pots

17. Ground bed nursery
• Commonly using method in SL

18. Nursery site selection
• Avoid old nursery sites
• Fine tilth
• Flat/ low steep

19. Nursery lay out
• Raised beds
• Length- convenient length ( maximum
10m)
• Width – 120cm
• Height – 15cm
• Space in between beds – 45-60cm

20. Seed bed sterilization
• Two methods
• Rabbing
• Chemical sterilization

21. Rabbing
• Spread 15-20 cm thick layer of leaves ,
weeds , paddy straw over the soil surface
and burning

22. Seed bed sterilization(cont’d)
2. Chemical sterilization
• Can use,
Bordeaux mixture
Choloropicrin
Dichloropropane
Methyl Bromide
Calcium Cyanamid

23. Structuring
– Arches
–Pegs
• To provide adequate shade

24. Tobacco Seeds
• Minute seeds
• Low food reserves
• Approximately 16000 seeds/g

25. Seed Treatment
• To avoid seed borne diseases, treated
with
– 2.5% Formaline solution
– 0.25% solution of Dithane
• Soak in 50ppm gibberelin acid solution for
48 hours to hasten germination

26. Seed rate
• 3.5 Kg/ha
• Higher seed rate
– Over crowding of seedlings
– Induces diseases- “damping off”

27. Sowing seed in nursery
• Mixed with ash for fine sand
– 1:15 or 1:20 Ratio
• To uniform distribution
on the beds

28. • 2 methods
• Broadcasting
• Sown in shallow furrows

29. Broadcasting
• Treated seeds are sown broadcast on the
surface of the beds
• Later mixed in the soil up to 1.5-2.0 cm
depth using a rake and compacted

30. Sown in shallow furrows
• Seeds sow in shallow furrows of 2.0 cm
depth and 5.0 cm distance from each
other
• Reduce over crowding

31. Mulching
• Mulching materials
– Paddy straw
– Sugar cane leaves
• To prevent water losses
• Remove gradually with the germination

32. Aftercare operations
1. Sunning
2. Watering
3. Clipping
4. Weeding

33. Sunning
• Remove mulch and the cover
• When cotyledons + 2 leaves stage
(Approximately 11 days)
• Start with ½ hour per day
• Fully open after 28-30 days

34. Clipping
• Removal of leaves
• Reduce evapotranspiration
• Induce root growth
• Increase nutrient uptake

35. Watering
• Tobacco is generally considered a
drought-tolerant plant and produces better
yields with less than desirable moisture
than with excessive soil moisture. Under
conditions of inadequate soil moisture
• The root system is susceptible to water
saturated soil conditions, and over-application
of irrigation should be avoided.

36. • Plant beds require a uniform supply of soil
moisture. Tobacco seed germination is
dependent on temperature, light and soil
moisture
• Initially watering can be done in every
evening
• No water accumulation at any spot of the bed
• Reduce in the hardening period
• Immediately after transplanting, tobacco
should be irrigated with about 0.5 inch of
water. This helps to settle the soil around the
roots and provides moisture to stimulate fast
root development.

37. • Surface and sprinkler irrigation are mostly
practised.
• The quality of the water is important in
selecting the most suitable irrigation
method, e.g. sprinkler irrigation should be
avoided when only low quality water is
available.

38. Fertilizer Application
• Basal application of 50g of Ammonium
sulphate, 100g of Potassium sulphate,
300g of Superphosphate and 100g of
Dolomite per 10m2 bed
• Application of 40g of 4% Endosulfan dust
per bed or one day before sowing per
10m2 bed

39. • After germination of seeds, apply
ammonium sulphate twise at 4 days
interval at 50g per bed
• Thereafter thrice at 4 days interval at 50g
per bed

40. Disease Control
• To control fungal diseases spraying 0.03%
Bordeaux mixture at the rate of 12 L for
every 40m2
• To control of pests spraying 0.5% carbaryl

41. Transplanting
If you are growing your tobacco seedlings in
a greenhouse or indoors they should be
"hardened off" before you transplant into
your field or garden
Methods of transplanting
• Ridge and furrow method
• Flat bed method

42. Ridge and Furrow Method
• Ridge planting
width – 60cm
space between ridges – 30-45 cm
height – 30cm
space between plants - 90

44. Flat Bed Method
• Not widely use
• Width – 150cm
• Distance between plants – 90cm

45. Transplanting
• Use 7-9 weeks old healthy seedlings
• Cease the watering of beds 2 weeks prior
to transplanting
• Watering well preceding day of pulling to
reduce the root damaging

46. • Transplant soon after uprooting
• Moist the field for quick establishment of
seedlings
• Gap filling 2 weeks after transplanting
• Planting density – 15000plants per ha
• Tobacco can be ready to harvest for
curing about 60 days after transplanting

48. Pests In Tobacco
 Aphids
 Cutworms

49. Hornworms
Wireworms

50.  Flea beetles
Budworms

51. Thrips
Grasshoppers

52. Pest & Disease Management
• A certain amount of insect damage does
not reduce crop value enough to pay for
the cost of treatment
• Tobacco plants often compensate for
insect damage
• Therefore Integrated pest management is
usually practiced which consist of physical,
biological and chemical control methods

53. Special management practices
De topping
 removal of apical bud
 Done in button stage(flowering stage)
 18-20 leaves in the plant

54. De suckering
 Removal of emerging auxiliary bud
 2 weeks after de topping
 De suckering agents are used to stop the
growth of suckers & prevent from pest
attacks
 Ex: ARMOUR-1, ART-78

55. Harvesting
 70 days after transplanting
 First 2-3 leaves to ripen should not be
harvested, because it has a low level of
solids content undesirable for manufacturing
 Only mature, ripen leaves should be
harvested
 Mature leaves exhibit a slight yellowing and
break off the stalk easier
 The best quality cures occur when the
tobacco is allowed to mature in the field

56. Harvesting methods
1.Priming method
2.Cut stalk method
Priming method
Removing 5 lower leaves
in every 10-12 days
5-6 harvesting times
For high quality
production

57. Cut stalk method
Done in 3-4 weeks after a certain amount
of the plants in the field have broken buds
Whole plant is cut at the base of the stem
The plant is then flipped upside down and
the leaves cure while still attached to the
plant
Removing the leaves
from the stalks is called
“stripping”

58. Curing of Tobacco
 Done to enhance the leaf's natural aroma
 Allowed to undergo fermenting reactions
under controlled temperature & humidity
 Done in the barn
 Leaves will be dehydrated over a period of
time in curing barns
 4 common methods
I. flue-curing
II. air-curing
III.fire-curing
IV.sun-curing

59. Flue-curing
 Tobacco leaves kept in an enclosed
heated area for about 1week
 Not directly exposed to smoke
 Fastest method for curing
 flue cured is also called bright tobacco,
because flue curing turns its leaves gold,
orange, or yellow.

60. Fire-curing
 Smoke from a low-burning fire on the barn
floor infuses the leaves for 3-10 weeks
 Leaves contain distinctive smoky aroma and
flavour
 Produced tobacco is low in sugar and high in
nicotine

61. Air curing
 sheltered from wind and sun in a well
ventilated chamber for about 6-8 weeks
 Low in sugar, which gives the tobacco
smoke a light, sweet flavor, and high in
nicotine
Sun-curing
 dries uncovered in the sun
 low in sugar and nicotine

62. Bulking
 Leaves of different varieties must be
bulked separately
 Leaves from different stalk position must
also be kept separate
 The bulks have to be covered with
polythene sheets to compact the bulk
without damage and to prevent gain or
loss of moisture

63. Grading
 Sort according to;
manufacturing purpose
 plant position styles
 external appreciation
 Important factors to be considered;
- overall colour
- blemish
- damage
- texture
- leaf length
- ripeness

64. Grading Con’t
• 3468888888888888888888888888888888
8888888888888888888888888888888888
8888888888888888888888888888888888
888

65. Tobacco Products
• Cigar
• Cigarettes
• Cheroots
• Bidi
• Snuff
• Chewing tobacco
• Loose leaf
• Dipping tobacco
• Cigarillos
• Topical tobacco paste
• Tobacco water