Curing Of Tobacco Leaves
Curing in china
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- Curing of tobacco is a process by which the harvested leaves
are made ready for marketing.
- In more technical terms it may be stated that curing is a process
of drying , decomposition of chlorophyll until the green colour
disappears from the harvested leaves, hydrolysis of starch into
sugars and respiration or fermentation of sugars there after.
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- In curing the mineral salts also crystallize out producing the grain
of the leaves.
- The sole object of curing is to dry the green leaf in such a way that
the final has required colour, texture and aroma.
- Thus curing is probably the most important operation in the production
of tobacco and the method and efficiency of curing determines, to a
large extent , the quality of the product.
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Air-Curing
- In air curing the source of energy is the atmospheric temperature
carried through air.
- The leaves are spread in the shade either in a barn or in a shed for
curing.
- A proper regulation of atmospheric temperature, oxygen and humidity
results in a better quality cure. There are two stages of air curing.
- Yellowing of leaves
- Development of brown colour.
- As such this method has very little value for curing a high grade
tobacco as the leaves give up their moisture slowly and turn finally
to a brown colour.
- The methods adopted for curing differ from place to place as explained
below
- Air-curing is commonly adopted in West Bengal, Bihar,
U.P., M.P., Punjab, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh
and Tamil Nadu. There are three main methods for air-curing
viz.
- Ground-curing
- Rack-curing
- Pit-curing.
Ground-curing
- In U.P. the popularly grown hookah tobacco is slowly cured in heaps
on the ground. At Kampil in Faraukhabad district, which is famous for
its hookah tobacco, the wilted plants are cut and collected into heaps
and are left in the field for two days after which the leaves are separated
and tied into a bundle of two or three leaves.
- These bundles are again heaped up and stored on a farmstead and turned
occasionally till finally cured.
- The chewing tobacco of Karnataka, after whole plants are cut, is allowed
to remain on the ground for six days after which they are turned over
in the early morning to expose the other side.
- These fully exposed plants are taken to the curing-shed where they
are bulked and rebulked for 15 to 20 days. The leaves are then separated
from the plants tied into bundles according to their length or size.
Rack-curing
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- In this method the matured leaves are harvested by priming method
and they are tied into bundles containing 4 to 6 leaves according
to their size.
- These bundles are then strung on a jute string, which are fixed
on specially erected bamboo poles in a barn.
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- A required atmospheric temperature and relative humidity of 70-80
per cent is maintained by either closing or opening the ventilators
or sprinkling water inside the barn. The curing process takes about
5 to 6 weeks time.
- The rack-curing is usually adopted in following areas
- Tamil Nadu for country cigarette, cigar, cheroot, chewing and snuff,
tobacco.
- Maharashtra for bidi and chewing tobacco.
- Andhra Pradesh for cheroot and bidi tobacco.
- Assam for hookah tobacco.
- Lanka tobacco leaves in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh
are strung on ropes in shed for 30-45 days for curing
and developing yellowish-brown colour of the leaves.
Pit-curing
- The pits, prepared in the ground, are used for curing
the tobacco leaves however, the method is not very common.
Pit curing is mainly adopted in Punjab, Tamil Nadu,
Maharashtra, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
- The tobacco grown in Jullundhar and Firozepur districts of Punjab
is pit cured.
- In this method the pits are lined with tree leaves or dried straw
in order to prevent mixing of leaves with soil. Then the wilted plants
are arranged in layers into small heaps.
- In Firozepur a layer of Aak (Calotropis sp.) leaves are placed between
the layers of tobacco leaves for increasing the pungency of cured leaves.
- The top of the heap is covered with a layer of straw and then with
soil which should be about 10 to 15 cm above the ground level so that
rain water does not percolate into the pit.
- It takes 6-8 days for curing after which they are twisted into ropes
or made into bundles.
- The pits must be opened at right time as any delay in opening causes
overheating and the leaves will get spoiled.
- Sometimes leaves are placed in the first pit for 24 hour and then
transferred to the second pit 48 hours and then back again to the first
for another 24-48 hours. Thus a quick fermentation takes place and the
leaves attain a dark brown colour and fruity smell.
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Fire-curing
- Fire is used as the source of energy
in this method and the important leaf which is cured is Jaffna tobacco
(a chewing type) in Ceylon and in Tamil Nadu.
- In this method the harvested leaves
are wilted for few hours in the field, tied into bundles of 3 to 4 leaves
and hung on racks in a smoke-hut.
- They are then smoked for 12 hours by
burning coconut husk, leaf, stalks, etc. and stocked for 3 days and
again smoked.
- During the smoking treatment the creosotic substances
produced from the smoke are absorbed by the tobacco
that imparts a particular taste and antiseptic properties
in the leaves.
- The leaves are fermented into bulks
for 3 to 4 weeks after smoke treatment and then treated with salt water
from the lagoons or with jaggery for a special or peculiar taste of
this type.
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Sun-Curing
- In sun-curing the source of energy is solar-heat.
Sun curing is commonly adopted in Tamil Nadu, Telangana,
Andhra Pradesh, Bombay, Bihar, U.P., Punjab and West
Bengal.
In
this method of curing
- Whole plant is strung on string or rack
(as in case of chewing and cigar tobacco in Tamil Nadu) or
- Whole plant is spread on the ground
(as in case of bidi tobacco in Bombay, hookah and chewing tobacco in
U.P. and Punjab) or
- Otherwise primed leaves or separated leaves with pieces
of stalks are tied into bundles and strung on ropes
(as in case of Natu tobacco in Telangana and Andhra
Pradesh) or
- These
leaves are spread on the ground (as in case of chewing tobacco in U.P.
and hookah tobacco in W. Bengal).
- The method differs from place to place and type to
type of tobacco viz. cigar and chewing tobacco in Telangana
and Andhra Pradesh takes about 15 to 20 days and Natu
tobacco takes around 45 to 60 days for curing.
- The leaves are separated from the stalk
after the plants are initially wilted in the field and the leaves are
then strung on bamboo poles for curing in the sun.
- The hookah and chewing tobacco in Bihar
are harvested and left in the field itself upto 4 to 6 days for drying
after which they are heaped for two days.
- Again they are spread and dried for
6 days then heaped for two days and spread thereafter upto 4 days for
drying.
- Thus after 45 days the leaves attain
dark brown colour after which they are stripped and tied into bundles
of 25 to 30 leaves for fermenting in bulks.
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Flue-Curing
- Flue-curing is an improved method of
curing. The curing consists of drying green leaves under artificial
atmospheric conditions by adopting a process which does not allow the
green leaf to come in direct contact with smoke or flames of
the fuel and which permits the regulation of temperature and humidity.
- The main feature of flue curing is the
drying of leaf under controlled conditions, where the starch gets converted
into sugars and the green tobacco becomes bright, aromatic and fine
textured.
- This method is adopted in almost entire
Virginia cigarette tobacco areas like Guntur, Godavari, Mysore and other
areas at Hyderabad, Madras, U.P, M.P. and Orissa.
- The flue-cured tobacco was first used
for chewing purpose but later, its mildness and low nicotine content
made it popular as a smoking tobacco.
- The cigarette smoking came into existence
since 1880-1890 and it became increasingly popular with its manufacture
from flue-cured Virginia tobacco.
- Now every priced cigarette is prepared with flue-cured
tobacco having a certain proportion of other types of
tobacco got from sun-curing like Natu tobacco of Telangana
and Andhra Pradesh.
- The production technique of flue-cured
tobacco is little different from other types
- It is raised with low nitrogen supply
- Harvested at an advanced stage of maturity
so that the tobacco might become rich in starch and poor in nitrogenous
substances like nicotine at the time of harvesting.
- The leaves are always harvested by priming
3-4 leaves at a time.
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- The harvested leaves are strung on sticks and then stacked
into a specially constructed flue- cured barn which is artificially
heated with gradual increase in temperature until the leaves dry.
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In the production
of FCV tobacco nearly 27 percent of the total cost of production
is being spent towards curing. in order to reduce the cost of
production, especially in curing, improved technologies have
been developed
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Low profile Barn |
Solar Barn
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- Adoption of low profiel barn which is
an improved version over conventional barn (7.32 m X 4.88 m X 3.2 m
) will help in accomodating 120 sticks more (about 250 kg of green leaf)in
the barn. about 185 kg of coal and 20 hours of time per charge can be
saved by adopting this improved design
- Solar energy is designed to utilise
solar energy for curing of tobacco to save non renewable source of energy
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Stages Of Curing
Stages Of Curing
These stages are
- Yellowing of leaf,
- Fixing of colour,
- Drying of leaf.
Yellowing of leaves
- In the yellowing process of leaves, which usually requires 24-36 hours
or slightly longer, only gentle heating is done with a temperature ranging
between 90 to 100°F and relative humidity between 85 to 90 per cent.
- It is a slow starvation process and the object of slow heating is
to give optimum humidity and retain, as much moisture in the leaves
as is possible to keep them alive for 30-36 hours.
- At the end of this stage the leaves attain a bright lemon yellow colour
and the starchy matter in them gets converted into sugars.
Fixing of colour
- The fixing of colour takes another 24 to 30 hours for completion.
The stage, being very critical, should be attended to with utmost care
because slight change in temperature deteriorates the quality, which
lowers the market price.
- The temperature of the barn should be gradually increased when yellowing
is over with a decrease in the humidity by opening the ventilators.
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- Any delay in drying of leaves, after yellowing is over, results
in a development of a brownish tinge on the yellow leaves due
to oxidation of tannin like substances that is called "sponging".
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- But, on the other hand, a sudden rise in the temperature, when
the leaves are still wet, results in a bluish back discoloration
called "scalding".
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- The fixation of colour merely involves drying of the tissues to the
point where oxidation of colour producing matter cannot take place.
- Ample ventilation is provided so that relative humidity of the barn
is effectively reduced and the temperature is advanced at the rate of
about 4-6 degrees per hour untill it reaches to 140°F which is maintained
until the leaf blade becomes practically dry.
- At this stage about 80 per cent of the leaf moisture is driven off.
Drying of midrib of the leaf
- This process consists of nothing but drying of midrib of the leaves.
During this process the ventilators are closed for conservation of heat.
- Temperature of the barn is advanced at the rate of 5 degrees per hour
until it reaches to 170 to 180°F and the temperature is maintained for
18-24 hours for completion of drying process of midrib in all parts
of the barn.
- This way the entire process of flue curing usually requires about
84-96 hours.
- After drying, the leaves are generally left in the barn overnight
with doors and ventilators opened so that the leaves may absorb moisture
from the atmosphere and permit their handling next morning otherwise
they will remain very brittle and break into pieces while handling.
- To achieve softness in the leaves, sometimes water is sprinkled over
the floor of the barn and doors and ventilators are closed at night.
- The cured leaves are reduced to about 10 to 20 per cent of their green
weight which possess a moisture ranging between 8 to 18 per cent after
curing.
- A nicely cured leaf should be of bright lemon yellow colour, fine
and silky texture, no blemish, mild strength, slow, regular and continuous
burning character, white ash, and pleasant and neutral aroma etc.
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Factors Effecting The Attainment Of Good Cured Quality Of Tobacco
- There are some factors, which are responsible
for the quality of the finished product. The important ones of these
are mentioned below
Temperature
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Curing is a vital process
in production of quality tobacco, and it is expected to proceed normally
within the prescribed limit of temperature.
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A temperature below
or above the normal limit will inhibit or slow down the curing process
but the drying will not necessarily be stopped and in fact it may
be accelerated.
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Temperature should be
within 60 to 180°F depending upon the stage of curing.
Relative humidity
- Relative humidity is highly important
influencing the rate of drying.
- It is observed that within normal curing
temperature the actual rate of drying in the air curing process is relatively
slow, requiring several week for completion whereas, in the flue curing,
the whole process is completed within 3 to 4 days.
- On an average the relative humidity
should be 85 per cent at beginning but after the leaves begin to turn
yellow a lower humidity that permits a rapid drying is advised.
Air supply
- Curing is largely a process of oxidation
in which an adequate air supply is required.
- Normally the air supply is met with
when ventilators are opened to regulate the humidity of the chamber.
- Opening of ventilators also governs
the exposure of leaves to the light.
- Total darkness is not a necessary condition
for successful curing whereas bright light may be injurious in some
types, especially it affects the colour of the cured products.
Condition of the
leaf
- The capacity of tobacco to cure and
the extent of the process depend on the type of leaf involved, the condition
under which it was produced and the amount of tobacco mass, its degree
of maturity and other physical characteristics.
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