|
Soils
Tobacco Soils
- The type, grade and quality of tobacco produced are considerably
influenced by the soil characteristics, particularly the texture
of the surface and sub-soils.
- Grows best on sandy loam surface soil and a slightly finer
sub-soil having ample internal drainage, good aeration and
high moisture holding capacity.
- Light soils tend to produce a large and thin leaf, light in
weight and colour, mild in strength and weak in aroma.
- Leaf produced on heavy soils is usually thick and heavy, dark
coloured, strong and aromatic.
- In an open, light textured soil, tobacco roots have been found
at a depth of 120 cm utilising moisture and plant nutrients
from such deep layers.
- Three major soil conditions that contribute to maximum leaf
expansion are adequate supply of oxygen, water and plant nutrients.
Flue-Cured Tobacco Soils
- For production of first class flue-cured tobacco it is
necessary to have a soil which is free-draining and which
can be kept well-aerated throughout the growing period.
- The fertility status of the soils should not be high. In fact,
nitrogen starvation condition should prevail at the time of
maturation of leaf.
- Flue-cured Virginia tobacco is grown in India on different
types of soils viz., Sands to sandy loams, red loams and heavy
black cotton soils.
- The silty loams of River side Lanka lands in Krishna and Godavari
districts in Andhra Pradesh Produce a wide spectrum of leaf
styles catering to the varying needs of importing countries
in the world.
- These soils differ widely in type (texture) and in natural
productivity (soil fertility plus management)
Typical characteristics of soil best suited to the production of high quality flue-cured tobacco
- A sandy surface soil upto 15 to 25 cm depth.
- A yellowish or a reddish sandy clay sub-soil extending upto
a depth of 150 cm.
- An acidic soil reaction of pH 5.5 to 6.5.
- A low reserve of essential plant nutrients.
- A low organic matter content
- Very low chloride content (less than 100 ppm).
- Cultivation of tobacco on inundated lands and low lying basins
are to be avoided as the leaf produced on these soils has
been found to exhibit very poor burning quality, due to absorption
of moisture and colour deteriorates during storage.
- Saline soils whose soil chloride content is greater than 100
ppm should be excluded from virginia tobacco cultivation.
- Light-Soils : These soils are derived from sand stones, sandy
to sandy loams in texture, moderately acidic in soil reaction
and very poor in fertility and required adequate supplies
of fertilizer elements viz., nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium,
calcium and magnesium for successful production of quality
tobacco.
- The crop in Northern light soil regions in Andhra Pradesh
raised under assured irrigation source and crop yields are
high.
- Another group of medium textured red soils, popularly called
as Southern light soils contain moderate quantities of clay,
neutral to slightly alkaline with limited drainage, low in
organic matter, low in P and medium to high potash and grain
mostly with FCV tobacco.
- Red soils of Karnataka (Chikkayelchigere and Hunsur), which
are used for growing flue-cured tobacco, range from clays
to sandy loams and these soils are characterised by the dominance
of illitic clay unlike Andhra Pradesh black soils which are
predominantly montmorillonitic.
- The low inherent fertility and a fairly good water-holding
capacity of the Karnataka red soils without being alkaline
are responsible for the use of these soils for successful
production of flue-cured tobacco.
- The heavy Chikkayelchigere red soils of Mandya district are
less desirable than the lighter Hunsur soils for production
of quality tobacco.
- Grey brown soil at Anand may be taken to represent the properties
in general of the goradu soils where flue-cured tobacco is
grown in Gujarat.
- This soil is highly sandy consisting of 75 to 80 per cent
fine sand. The water-holding capacity is good enough in spite
of the highly sandy nature of soil.
- However, the alkalinity of the soil and the high calcium saturation
of the exchange complex are the two major factors which are
responsible for the high calcium and low potassium content
of flue-cured leaf from this region.
Bidi-Tobacco Soils
- Cultivation of bidi tobacco is confined mainly to two
zones, viz. Charotar tract of Gujarat and Nipani area of Karnataka.
- Sangli and Kolhapur districts of Maharashtra also produce
bidi tobacco to some extent.
- In Charotar zone which comprises Kaira and Baroda districts,
bidi tobacco is grown on sandy to sandy-loam soils called
'goradu' soils.
- In Nipani area of Karnataka (comprising mainly Belgaum district),
the soils used for cultivation of bidi tobacco are heavy soils
ranging from silt loams to clays.
Cigar-filler tobacco soils
- Cigar-filler tobacco is a heavy type of tobacco with good
taste, aroma and burning quality.
- This tobacco type is produced in the U.S.A., Cuba and Philippines
on soils which are more fertile and heavier than the soils
used for cigar-wrapper or flue-cured types in those countries.
- Nevertheless, excellent drainage, good aeration and an acidic
reaction are important criteria for the suitability of soils.
- In India, cigar-filler and binder tobaccos are grown on sandy
to loamy, well-drained, red and brown soils of Coimbatore
and Madurai districts of Tamil Nadu with higher Calcium Oxide
content than Potassium content.
- Because of the highly sandy nature of the soil (about 65 per
cent coarse fractions) and yet a fairly good water-holding
capacity, the right air-water permeability characteristics
are maintained by the soil.
- In spite of the fact that the crop receives some rainfall
during its growth, it is heavily irrigated, about 20 times
in all, from well waters without fear of waterlogging.
Lanka-Tobacco Soils
- Lanka tobacco is a local type confined to deltaic islands
of Godavari, Andhra Pradesh.
- The soils on which it is grown are derived from the recent
alluvium deposited by the Godavari. They range from sandy
to loam.
- Some of them which are submerged yearly by the river floods
are silty and hence highly fertile requiring no further manuring.
- They also conserve lot of moisture and so tobacco crop is
taken year after year on such low-lying lankas without any
irrigation.
- On the other hand, high-level lankas require moderate manuring
with groundnut-cake or castor-cake and two or three irrigations
in order to raise a normal crop of Lanka tobacco.
Cigar-Wrapper Tobacco
- The requirements of soil and climate for production of
wrapper tobacco of good quality are more exacting than for
other types.
- Reasonably good quality wrapper leaf is produced in Dinhata
of Cooch-Behar district of West Bengal and to some extent
in banana and coffee gardens (at an altitude of about 1500
m) of the lower Palni Hills in Madurai district of Tamil Nadu.
- The required qualities, namely thinness, silky texture, elasticity,
mild taste and light aroma are the outcome of high humidity
and low temperatures prevailing in these areas during the
growing season
Chewing-tobacco soils
- In Tamil Nadu, large area is under chewing type.
- Soils in Tamil Nadu, which are used for production of chewing
tobacco, range from gravelly to sandy loams.
- In the coastal belt of Tanjore district some coastal sands
are used for growing chewing tobacco. Some of the cigar and
cheroot tobacco varieties grown on red loams of Madurai district
are utilised for chewing purposes because of their poor burning
quality.
- Chewing tobacco is also grown in sandy loam soils of Coimbatore
and Erode districts.
- Hookah tobacco can be used as a chewing type and vice-versa.
So the soils growing chewing tobacco in North India are the
same as those used for hookah type. Gujarat produces chewing
tobacco in alluvial sandy loam.
Hookah-Tobacco Soils
- Hookah-tobacco is grown mainly in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar
and West Bengal.
- Some of the chewing types can also be used for hookah purposes
or vice versa depending on the method of curing.
- In Uttar Pradesh, hookah tobacco is grown mainly on the alluvial
soils of Farukhabad and Etah districts. Some of these soils
are saline also.
- Hookah-tobacco crop of Uttar Pradesh receives regular irrigation.
- Muzaffarpur, Dharbhanga and Purnea districts of Bihar produce
substantial quantities of hookah tobacco. These soils are
moderately alkaline silt loams and highly calcareous in nature.
- In West Bengal, hookah tobacco is mainly concentrated in Cooch-Behar
and Jalpalguri districts. The soils are sandy to silt loams.
Natu-Tobacco Soils
- This local type of tobacco is grown in Andhra Pradesh.
Natu leaf, which is used for manufacture of cigarettes has
to be thin in texture with a pleasing aroma and moderate strength,
whereas that used for cheroot, chewing and snuff can be stronger.
- Soils growing Natu tobacco range from heavy black-clayey soils
as in Guntur district to sandy and sandy-loam soils of West
Godavari and Srikakulam districts.
- These soils are generally rich in lime. Some pati soils (soils
from old village sites which are rich in potash) are also
used for growing Natu tabacco.
- Natu tobacco of West Godavari district is grown on shallow
red loams with gravelly sub-soil.
- Because of the very free draining nature of the soil, the
crop is irrigated frequently.
- The unirrigated crop of heavy clayey soils is given a moderate
manuring if necessary, whereas the irrigated crop on light
soils receives very heavy manuring by way of sheep penning,
farmyard manure, organic cakes, etc.
Top
Climate
- Tobacco is a tropical crop in origin but it is grown in
subtropical and temperate regions of the world.
- It is grown from 60° N latitude in Sweden to 40° S
latitude in New Zealand, China, India and U.S.A.
- The crop needs around 28° C as an optimum temperature
for germination but it may germinate at a temperature ranging
between 15° C to 35° C.
- The crop cannot withstand frost and starts withering or wilting
at a temperature above 35° C.
- Tobacco needs 50-100 cm rainfall which should be well distributed
throughout growing period.
- Areas having a rainfall of more than 125 cm are not fit for
tobacco production, whereas a rainfall of less than 75 cm
results in production of leathery leaves having very high
nicotine content in them.
Ideal distribution of rainfall for the best yield and quality of tobacco
|
Stage
|
Climate requirement
|
|
Seedling establishment
|
Cloudy weather with drizzling (soon
after transplanting)
|
|
Early growth stage
|
Light rainfall
|
|
Grand growth stage
|
Bright sunshine with occasional
moderate rain
|
|
Ripening (maturity) of leaves
|
No rains at all because the rain
will wash the gums from the leaves surface resulting
in poor curing. Sometimes bigger rain drops split
the leaves.
|
- Waterlogging at any stage of growth is deadly harmful
because the plants cannot withstand waterlogging.
- Hailstrom causes a serious injury to the leaves any time during
growing period.
- Relative humidity is one of the deciding factors for yield,
quality and curing of leaves. A relative humidity of 85-90
per cent is optimum for the crop because at this level of
humidity the leaves are easily used and they do not become
very brittle.
Top
|
