The cultivation of tobacco is the first phase of the production process. It is an essential step because if the crop is not adequate, the tobacco will not have enough quality to become in to the products you can find in the tobacconists: rolling tobacco, cigarettes, cigars.
Tobacco fields
Sowing and transplantation
Tobacco cultivation begins with the planting of seeds. The seeds are placed in seedbeds where they grow about 8 weeks, reaching 15-20 centimeters. The tobacco plant needs light to grow and in some cases, the land is fertilized with different types of natural fertilizers that will mark the flavor of the plant.
After 8 weeks, the tobacco plant is transplanted from the seedbed to land that has been previously worked to improve quality and performance. During the next three months, farmers watch over the proper growth of plants, they continue to care for the soil, watering, protecting the plants from possible pests, etc. After a certain time the plant is ready for harvest.
Harvest
It is very important to collect the tobacco leaves at the right time. If the plant is too green or too ripe, the tobacco is not of adequate quality. Depending on the type of plant, harvesting is done in a way or another.
As we told in the post on Virginia tobacco, this plant is collected in stages as each part of the plant provides certain properties and has a different maturation process. With Burley tobacco, the opposite happens. The plant is cut and dried whole.
Drying
Drying is the third stage before the tobacco goes to factories for processing. Soon we will explain in another post about the drying process and the types developed there.
See you soon!
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