Tobacco treatment. Part 2
Transplanting
Soil characteristics is one of the most significant parameters that are requires for growing qualitative tobacco. The most suitable is considered light, granular, sandy soil saturated with moisture. In this relations are very good, for example, Cuba or Dominican Republic.
Transplanting itself requires caution, patience and definite skills as even easily damaged roots lead to death of entire plant.
Distance between the seedlings depends partially on local conditions, partially on tobacco sort. If plants are transplanted far from each other - leafs become big, dense, with high content of aromatic substances. If plants stand closely and, accordingly, shade each other, than leafs come out bright and thin.
In that areas where is a lot of sun, for example, on Cube, tobacco plantations are covered with thin light sheds to gibe shadow. This method requires big costs but leafs come out perfect, especially suitable as covering, inside cigar leaf.
Cropping
Tobacco is ready for cropping when leafs reach a definite ripeness. Usually, it happens in two-three months after planting in the soil when leafs acquire dark-green color. Cigar tobacco cropping is always made only manually as first ripen leafs placed on the very bottom under all others. That is why leafs cropping takes place in several steps. The most qualitative are considered leafs from the middle part of the stem.
Drying
In fresh tobacco leaf water content is approximately 85 per cent. With the help of drying it must be led approximately to 25 per cents. During the drying as a result of various chemical processes leafs change their color on yellow and brown.
During common air dry (Air-curing) that is used, for example, for cigar tobacco, time and temperature are regulated with the help of curing barns ventilation. For this purpose in the walls and roof are installed fanlights. Curing barns themselves are mostly wooden.
During the first stage of drying all fanlights are closed. Later, when leafs begin to acquire necessary color, curing barns are fully opening.
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