Profitable Tobacco Production
Botanical
name : Nicotiana tobacum
(Cigarette tobacco)
Nicotiana rustica (Huka tobacco)
Common
Name:- Tambako (Pakistani Name)
Family: Solanaceae
Economic Importance:-
The tobacco
value chain is most often depicted from the perspective of the cigarette industry
and its health implications. Tobacco taxation is the main source of revenue for
almost all governments. In Sri Lanka, for example, tax revenue from tobacco
accounts for 10% of total taxes collected by the Government. Less than 0.1% of
the world’s cultivable land is occupied by tobacco plantations – less than half
the land occupied by coffee, for example – it is an important component of the
agriculture industry in many countries and creates more employment per hectare
of cultivated land than any other crop in the world. Price stability is one of
the main attractions for tobacco growers, as well as greater profitability per
hectare.
Plant
description:-
It has been
adapted to cultivation in subtropical and temperate climates in many parts of
the world. The plant is an annual, up to 10 feet (3 m) high. The leaves are
large
and oval, with rounded or pointed ends. Leaves and stems are covered with
hairs, some of which exude a sticky fluid. The most commonly cultivated
varieties have leaves that vary in length from 20 to 24 inches (50 to 60 cm)
and are about half as wide as they are long. The tube-shaped flowers are
greenish-cream to pink or red. The seeds are very small, and one plant usually
produces 200,000 or more.
Soil:-
Tobacco
require well drained loamy soil.
Land
preparation:-
2-3
ploughing followed by planking.it is propagated through nursery.
Nursery
Raising:-
1. Tobacco
seeds are very small in size hence not sown directly in fields.
2. Seedlings
are raised on nursery beds 10 cm high, 120 cm wide and of convenient length.
3. Nursery
beds are prepared from sandy to sandy loam soil at high lying area in the farm.
4. Drainage
channels are provided in between seedbeds:
5. Burning
of surface soil of beds is done for partial sterilization of soil and to
destroy weed seeds known as rabbing.
6. Some FYM
is added to soil and also spread on the surface of bed to improve water holding
capacity and to avoid cracking of the soil.
7. About
25-30gram seed is sufficient for one hectare area.
8. Seeds are mixed
with ten parts of fine sand for uniform sowing.
9. Seeds are
spread on seed bed an mixed with soil by using rake.
10. An iron
pipe is rolled over to compact the surface of seed bed and some water is
sprinkled by watering can.
11. Layer of
paddy straw is given over bed to protect emerging seedling from direct contact
with sun rays and should be removed after 4 to 5 days.
12. The beds
are weeded, watered and sprayed with pesticides regularly.
13. When
seedling are three to four month old, small dose of Nitrogen is given as foliar
spray.
14.
Seedlings become ready for transplanting when they attain 12 to 15 cm height
and have 4 to 5 leaves.
Transplanting
of nursery:-
1.Tobacco
seedlings are transplanted when they are 5 to 6 week old in case of N. rustica
and 7 to 9 week old in case of N. tabacum.
2. Watering
to nursery beds is withhold ten days before uprooting to harden seedlings.
3. Land is
prepared by 2 to 3 ploughings, many time harrowing and cleaned off the weeds
and stubbles of previous crop.
4. The
position of plants is marked according to spacing by using marker or marking
rope.
5. The
spacing varies place to place and in Nipani area bid tobacco is planted at 105
x 75 cm distance.
6. Pits of
10 to 15 cm depth are dug at each hill.
7. A few
hours before transplanting nursery beds are watered for easy uprooting of seedlings
without damaging root system.
8. One
healthy, vigorous growing seedling is planted in each pit without bending the
roots.
9. The soil
around the seedling is pressed well and light irrigation is given.
10.
Transplanted seedlings are covered by that of Sorghum leaves to protect them
from sun heat and to reduce transpiration.
Irrigation
Needs:-
8-10
irrigation is require for good production of tobacco
Fertilizer
Application:-
50-60 Cart
load well rotten FYM before one month of sowing. N:P:K 60:60:60 used, if 25-30
cart well rotten FYM used. Fertilizer are not commonly used for cigarette
tobacco because it result in decrease quality of leave which is not desirable
in cigarette tobacco.
Toping
and suckering:-
"Topping"
is the removal of the tobacco flowers while "suckering" is the
pruning out of leaves that are otherwise unproductive. Both procedures ensure
that as much of the plant's energy as possible focuses on producing the large
leaves that are harvested and sold. "Cropping," "Pulling,"
and "Priming" are terms for removing mature leaves from tobacco
plants. Leaves are cropped as they ripen, from the bottom to the top of the
stalk.
Harvesting
of tobacco:-
In the
oldest method, the entire plant is harvested at once by cutting off the stalk
at the ground with a sickle. In the nineteenth century, bright tobacco began to
be harvested by pulling individual leaves off the stalk as they ripened.
In modern
times large fields are harvested by a single piece of farm equipment, though
topping the flower and in some cases the plucking of immature leaves is still
done by hand.Some farmers still use "tobacco harvesters." They are
not very efficient yet highly cost effective for harvesting premium and rare
strains of tobacco. The harvester trailers for in-demand crops are now pulled
by gasoline fueled tractors. "Croppers" or "primers" pull
the leaves off in handfuls and pass these to the "stringer" or
"looper," which bundles the leaves to a four-sided pole with twine.
These poles are hung until the harvester is full.
Cultivars:-
SH85, SH78,NOKI ,MADRAS, PUNJAB12,
SUFAID PATA ,KALA PATA
Furhter Study:
http://www.ptc.com.pk/group/sites/PAK_7SHBXN.nsf/vwPagesWebLive/DO7T5LR5?opendocument&SKN=1
AUTHOR:
Sohaib Hassan
M,Phil Agriculture Agronomy
University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan.
sohaibmosal@gmail.com
11/07/2019