| Sowing
| |
| | handfuls, and pass these to the
|
| Tobacco seeds are scattered onto the
| |
| | "stringer", who loops twine around the
|
| surface of the soil, as their germination
| |
| | handfuls of tobacco and hangs them on a
|
| is activated by light. In colonial
| |
| | long wooden square pole. Traditionally,
|
| Virginia, seedbeds were fertilized with
| |
| | the croppers, down in the dark and wet,
|
| wood ash or animal manure (frequently
| |
| | with their faces getting slapped by the
|
| powdered horse manure). Seedbeds were
| |
| | huge tobacco leaves, were men, and the
|
| then covered with branches to protect the
| |
| | stringers seated on the higher elevated
|
| young plants from frost damage. These
| |
| | seats were women. The harvester has
|
| plants were left to grow until around
| |
| | places for 4 teams of workers: 8 people
|
| April.
| |
| | cropping and stringing, plus a packer who
|
| In the nineteenth century, young plants
| |
| | takes the heavy strung poles of wet green
|
| came under increasing attack from the
| |
| | tobacco from the stringers and packs them
|
| flea beetle (Epitrix cucumeris or Epitrix
| |
| | onto the pallet section of the harvester,
|
| pubescens), causing destruction of half
| |
| | plus a driver, making the total crew of
|
| the United States tobacco crop in 1876.
| |
| | each harvester 10 people. Interestingly,
|
| In the years afterward, many experiments
| |
| | the outer seats are suspended from the
|
| were attempted and discussed to control
| |
| | harvester - slung out over to fit into
|
| the flea beetle. By 1880 it was
| |
| | the aisles of tobacco. As these seats are
|
| discovered that replacing the branches
| |
| | suspended it is important to balance the
|
| with a frame covered by thin fabric would
| |
| | weight of the 2 outside teams (similar to
|
| effectively protect plants from the
| |
| | a playground see-saw). Having too heavy
|
| beetle. This practice spread until it
| |
| | or light a person in an unbalanced
|
| became ubiquitous in the 1890s.
| |
| | combination often results in the
|
| Today, in the United States, unlike other
| |
| | harvester tipping over especially when
|
| countries, tobacco is often fertilized
| |
| | turning around at the end of a lane.
|
| with the mineral apatite in order to
| |
| | Water tanks are a common feature on the
|
| partially starve the plant for nitrogen,
| |
| | harvester due to heat, and danger of
|
| which changes the taste. This (together
| |
| | dehydration for the workers. Salt tablets
|
| with the use of licorice and other
| |
| | sometimes get used as well.
|
| additives) accounts for the different
| |
| | Pests
|
| flavor of American cigarettes from those
| |
| | Pests of tobacco include the moths
|
| available in other countries. There is,
| |
| | Endoclita excrescens, Manduca sexta (the
|
| however, some suggestion that this may
| |
| | Tobacco hornworm), and Manduca
|
| have adverse health effects attributable
| |
| | quinquemaculata. Other Lepidoptera whose
|
| to the polonium content of apatite.
| |
| | larvae use tobacco as a food plant
|
| Transplanting
| |
| | include Angle Shades, Cabbage Moth, Mouse
|
| After the plants have reached a certain
| |
| | Moth, Nutmeg Moth, Setaceous Hebrew
|
| height, they are transplanted into
| |
| | Character and Turnip Moth. The dry
|
| fields. This was originally done by
| |
| | tobacco leaves and cigarettes are
|
| making a relatively large hole in the
| |
| | sometimes used as food for the Cigarette
|
| tilled earth with a tobacco peg, then
| |
| | Beetle (Lasioderma serricorne).
|
| placing the small plant in the hole.
| |
| | Cut plants or pulled leaves are
|
| Various mechanical tobacco planters were
| |
| | immediately transferred to tobacco barns
|
| invented throughout the late 19th and
| |
| | (kiln houses), where they will be cured.
|
| early 20th century to automate this
| |
| | Curing methods varies with the type of
|
| process, making a hole, fertilizing it,
| |
| | tobacco grown, and tobacco barn design
|
| and guiding a plant into the hole with
| |
| | varies accordingly. Air-cured tobacco is
|
| one motion.
| |
| | hung in well-ventilated barns and allowed
|
| Topping and suckering
| |
| | to dry over a period of weeks. Fire-cured
|
| Once the tobacco plants are growing well,
| |
| | tobacco is hung in large barns where
|
| they will begin to produce shoots from
| |
| | smoldering fires of hardwoods are kept
|
| the joint of each leaf with the stalk.
| |
| | burning. Flue-cured tobacco was
|
| These secondary shoots — known as
| |
| | originally strung onto tobacco sticks,
|
| "suckers" — are undesirable as they
| |
| | which were hung from tier-poles in curing
|
| divert energy that could be directed into
| |
| | barns (Aus: kilns, also traditionally
|
| the leaves. They are removed in a process
| |
| | called Oasts). These barns have flues
|
| known as "suckering" (sometimes spelled
| |
| | which run from externally-fed fire boxes,
|
| "succoring" in older writing). Generally
| |
| | heat-curing the tobacco without exposing
|
| this is done by hand several times during
| |
| | it to smoke. Traditional curing barns in
|
| the season. Recently anti-suckering
| |
| | the U.S. are falling into disuse, as the
|
| compounds have come into use.
| |
| | trend toward more efficient prefabricated
|
| At a certain stage of maturity, the plant
| |
| | metal "bulk bars", allows greater
|
| will produce a flower cluster from its
| |
| | efficiency. Curing and subsequent aging
|
| tip, as well as the tips of any suckers
| |
| | allows for the slow oxidation and
|
| that remain on the plant. In order to
| |
| | degradation of carotenoids in tobacco
|
| divert more energy into the leaves, the
| |
| | leaf. This produces certain compounds in
|
| plant is "topped" — the top is cut off.
| |
| | the tobacco leaves very similar and give
|
| Tobacco is harvested in one of two ways.
| |
| | a sweet hay, tea, rose oil, or fruity
|
| In the oldest method, the entire plant is
| |
| | aromatic flavor that contribute to the
|
| harvested at once by cutting off the
| |
| | "smoothness" of the smoke. Starch is
|
| stalk at the ground with a curved knife.
| |
| | converted to sugar which glycates protein
|
| In the nineteenth century, bright tobacco
| |
| | and is oxidized into advanced glycation
|
| began to be harvested by pulling
| |
| | endproducts (AGEs), a caramelization
|
| individual leaves off the stalk as they
| |
| | process that also adds flavor. Inhalation
|
| ripened. The leaves ripen from the ground
| |
| | of these AGEs in tobacco smoke
|
| upwards, so a field of tobacco may go
| |
| | contributes to atherosclerosis and
|
| through several "pullings" before the
| |
| | cancer.
|
| tobacco is entirely harvested, and the
| |
| | Unaged or low quality tobacco is often
|
| stalks may be turned into the soil.
| |
| | flavoured with these naturally occurring
|
| "Cropping" or "pulling" are terms for
| |
| | compounds. Tobacco flavoring is a
|
| pulling leaves off tobacco. Leaves are
| |
| | significant part of a multi-million
|
| cropped as they ripen, from the bottom of
| |
| | dollar industry.
|
| the stalk up. The first crop at the very
| |
| | The aging process continues for a period
|
| bottom of the stalks are called "sand
| |
| | of months and often extends into the
|
| lugs", as they are often against the
| |
| | post-curing process.
|
| ground and are coated with dirt splashed
| |
| | Post-cure processing
|
| up when it rains. Sand lugs weigh the
| |
| | After tobacco is cured, it is moved from
|
| most, and are most difficult to work
| |
| | the curing barn into a storage area for
|
| with. Originally workers cropped the
| |
| | processing. If whole plants were cut, the
|
| tobacco and placed it on mule-pulled
| |
| | leaves are removed from the tobacco
|
| sleds. Eventually tractors with wagons
| |
| | stalks in a process called stripping. For
|
| were used to transport leaves to the
| |
| | both cut and pulled tobacco, the leaves
|
| stringer, an apparatus which uses twine
| |
| | are then sorted into different grades. In
|
| to sew leaves onto a stick .
| |
| | colonial times, the tobacco was then
|
| Some farmers use "tobacco harvesters" -
| |
| | "prized" into hogsheads for
|
| basically a trailer pulled behind a
| |
| | transportation. In bright tobacco
|
| tractor. The harvester is a wheeled sled
| |
| | regions, prizing was replaced by stacking
|
| or trailer that has seats for the
| |
| | wrapped "hands" into loose piles to be
|
| croppers to sit on and seats just in
| |
| | sold at auction. Today, most cured
|
| front of these for the "stringers" to sit
| |
| | tobacco is baled before sales under
|
| on. The croppers pull the leaves off in
| |
| | contract.
|
