In our country, cigar or cigarette tobacco can be grown in open ground exclusively in the southern regions. As for the northern and central regions, they will need greenhouse structures for this. But shag has become widespread throughout Russia (with the exception of the Far North, of course).

Once upon a time, growing tobacco at home with a view to its further sale was considered a common activity for many families, and self-garden, as it was called, was a familiar product in the markets. This was largely due to the high cost of tobacco products, but later, when cigarettes became noticeably cheaper, this type of business began to decline. Be that as it may, even today shag has a lot of admirers, so the question of how to grow it on your site is still relevant.

Growing smoking tobacco - is it worth it?

Let's say you are a smoker and live somewhere in the southern part of the country. You have several acres of land on which you would like to grow tobacco. In this case, you should start with simple calculations: one cigarette contains about 1 g of tobacco (the lower the quality, the less), which means that there are about 20 g of tobacco in a pack. On average, a smoker needs one pack of cigarettes per day or from 6 to 8 kg of tobacco annually. If the conditions are favorable, then one plant can produce up to 30 g of tobacco, while 1 m? you can land 6-7 copies. If the variety is large-leaved, then the planting density should be 30x70 cm, and if we are talking about shag or plants with medium leaves, then 20x70 cm. From this it follows that in total it is necessary to plant from 270 to 300 plants, which will take about 40 m ?. Moreover, the tobacco itself in this case will be extremely strong, so it will have to be diluted with stems. If this suits you, if you consider everything to be quite appropriate, or if you plan to sell products, then proceed according to step by step instructions given in this article.

Note! All parts of plants contain nicotine, a powerful cardio- and neurotoxin, which leads to short-term euphoria (most of this substance is in the leaves - from 0.75% to 2.8%).

Step by step instructions for growing tobacco

The article will discuss how to breed ordinary tobacco. If you choose Nicotiana rustica (that's the scientific name for shag), you won't need much of the advice given, as this variety is less heat-loving and easier to care for. In the regions middle lane it is sown in May in open soil (under a film or any other covering material) so that it has time to develop and give a good harvest.

Traditionally, work should begin with the choice planting material. There are a lot of tobacco varieties, but you should choose only local ones.

Table. Tobacco varieties zoned in the CIS

Note! There's also the Kentucky Burley, which has the advantage of being low in sugar so the leaves don't ferment. Immediately after drying, the leaves are steamed and crushed for consumption.

Stage one. Sprouting seeds

The technologies for breeding tobacco and shag are in many ways similar, and the main difference lies in the same ripening period. So, shag ripens in 75-80 days, and tobacco, therefore, in 105-120 days. It must also be remembered that the seeds in this case are not grown in a garden, i.e. in open ground - this should be done in a greenhouse or, alternatively, at home, using pots or seedling boxes.

Step 1. First, prepare the previously purchased seeds - 2-3 days before sowing, soak them in a solution of tartaric acid (proportions - 3 ml per 1 g of grains) for 24 hours. The air temperature all this time should fluctuate between 25-30 ° C. This simple procedure will ensure earlier maturation of seedlings (approximately 7 days) and an increase in germination by 20%.

Step 2. After 24 hours, remove the seeds from the solution, dry a little and lay them in a ceramic / enamel dish with a 3-centimeter layer.

Step 3. Keep the material in this form for several days, moisturizing and mixing at least 5-6 times daily. As for the air temperature, it should already be 27-28 ° C.

Stage two. We prepare the greenhouse

Due to the fact that it is more expedient to grow tobacco seedlings in a greenhouse, we will focus on this option. So, take care of the nutrient layer, consisting of humus and sand in a ratio of 3:4. Fill the greenhouse with the resulting mixture with a layer 10 cm thick.

Seeds should be sown in last days February or early March, so additionally make sure that the greenhouse structure is heated. The area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe structure will be insignificant, so this will not cause any special difficulties.

Stage three. Sowing seeds and growing seedlings

Step 1. Immediately before sowing, moisten the nutrient layer (water consumption during irrigation should be 1 l / m?). Over time, by the way, the watering rate will have to be increased to about 4 l / m?.

Step 2. Sow tobacco grains superficially, evenly scattering them over moist soil. The consumption should be 4 g/m? (if you sow shag, then 20 g / m?).

Step 3. After sowing, gently press the seeds into the soil about 0.3 cm (for shag, this figure is 0.7 cm), then pour water. Water with extreme caution, otherwise the grains may sink too deep.

Step 4. Lower the air temperature in the greenhouse to 20°C.

Further care for seedlings is to comply with several important requirements.

1. Regularly feed the plants with a solution prepared from potassium salt, superphosphate and ammonium nitrate (20 g, 50 g and 30 g, respectively, for every 10 liters of liquid).
2. The consumption of the finished solution should be approximately 2 l / m? soil.
3. You can also use organic fertilizer - chicken manure, diluted with water in a ratio of 1: 7.
4. 7 days before the expected transplant date, reduce the frequency and abundance of watering. Moreover, for the last three days, tobacco seedlings do not need to be watered at all.
5. Hardened and high-quality plants should be with an elastic stem that does not break during bending.
6. A few hours before transplanting, water the plants with plenty of water - this will make it easier to remove them from the ground.

After 40-45 days, when the height of the stems reaches 15 cm, the thickness is 0.5 cm, and there are already several true leaves on each plant, transplant the seedlings into open soil.

Stage four. We transplant seedlings

During transplantation, the temperature of the soil at a depth of 10 cm should rise somewhere up to 10 ° C (the specific indicator depends on the climatic zone).

Step 1. First, make shallow holes. The distance between them should be from 25 cm to 30 cm, and the row spacing should be at least 70 cm.

Step 2. Pour 0.5-1 l of water into each well.

Step 3. Remove plants one at a time and transplant into holes. In fact, the technology is almost the same as when planting tomatoes. However, remember that any transplant is a shock to seedlings, so try to keep the soil in which the plants grew on the root system.

Step 4. Before planting, dip each plant in a special mixture consisting of clay and cow dung.

Step 5 Fill the holes with soil, compact it gently.

Stage five. Further care

In the future, regularly weed and loosen the aisles, and also feed. During the entire growing season, tobacco should be watered no more than 2-3 times (water consumption should be 8 liters per bush). Also periodically pinch (remove lateral shoots) and topping (breaking off inflorescences).

Possible diseases

There are two most common tobacco problems. Let's see how to deal with them.

1. Aphid. To fight it, use "Rogor-S".
2. Peronosporosis. It can be defeated with a 4% suspension of cineb, applied in a ratio of 5 l / 10 acres, or with a 0.3% solution of polycarbacin.

Harvest Features

Step 1. As soon as the leaves turn yellow, you can remove them, without fail, starting from the lower tiers. It is important that each leaf is intact and dry.

Step 2. Transfer all these leaves to the shade for 12 hours, carefully laying them in a 30-centimeter layer. During this time, they are quite attached.

Step 3. Next, put the leaves on the cords and hang to dry. If you will dry in the open air, then pick up for this appropriate place protected from rain and wind. If the weather is sunny, the leaves will dry faster, and the process will take no more than 2 weeks in total.

Step 4. Take 5-6 cords with foliage, folded four times, and hang them on a special hook. A similar design is also known as a harbor.

Step 5. Move one or more harbors to the room for later drying by hanging them on the crossbars.

Step 6. With the onset of autumn, remove the leaves, gently smooth them out and put them in piles. Everything, tobacco is already ready for use!

As you can see, there is nothing complicated in growing tobacco, the main thing is desire, as well as compliance with all the tips given in the article.

Video - How to remove and how to dry tobacco

Video - Film about growing tobacco from A to Z

Video - Features of growing tobacco

Before you start growing smoking tobacco in your country house, answer this question for yourself: why do you need it? In order to get shag or insecticide to repel garden pests? Both the first and second goals of growing tobacco are hardly expedient.

It is not safe to grow a self-rolling garden for self-rolling. By growing tobacco, drying its leaves, can you independently determine the content of nicotine in them? Of course not. And it, depending on the variety, cultivation techniques, raw material processing technology, can range from tenths to four percent or more.

With a low nicotine content, smoking homemade cigarettes will not bring satisfaction to heavy smokers, and a high percentage of nicotine will adversely affect health. The uncontrolled use of tobacco dust, tobacco infusions to control garden pests is also unsafe for people.

It is worth remembering that tobacco belongs to nightshade crops and therefore it is not easy for him to find beds on which potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, physalis, petunia have not been grown for several years.

To belong to this family fraught with viral diseases that can spread from tobacco to your favorite garden crops and vice versa.

But warning about negative consequences growing tobacco, it's time to talk about the agricultural technology of this crop.

Growing smoking tobacco through seedlings

Tobacco has over fifty species, but only two are considered cultivated. The plants of one are the raw material for the production of shag, the plants of the other - tobacco. Makhorka can be grown throughout Russia, but tobacco is only south of the 55º parallel.

From such small seeds, such a huge bush grows.

An adult plant grows up to one and a half meters. The stem is straight. Leaves entire, oval. The flowers are collected in a paniculate inflorescence at the top of the stem. The fruit is a multi-seeded capsule. The seeds are very small: there are 10-15 thousand of them in one gram. The root system is branched, deeply penetrating into the soil.

Most varieties are plants long day: to the phase of flowering and fruiting pass at 15-16 hours of daylight.

At what temperature to grow. Tobacco is thermophilic. Even in the southern regions of the country it is grown through seedlings. Sowing begins in early March in a mixture of humus, garden soil and sand (2:1:1). In the pre-emergence period, the temperature is maintained at 27-28 degrees. For seedlings that are born, it is lowered to 18-20 degrees. Provide good lighting.

Seedling care. Water the seedlings without waiting for the soil to dry out. But a week before the transplant open ground watering is reduced, and two days later - stopped. By the time of planting in open ground, seedlings should have 5-6 true leaves, be 12-15 cm high.

Landing in open ground

Hardened seedlings are planted outdoors after the threat of frost has passed. The site is prepared in advance, choosing a place protected from the wind. Tobacco grows well after green manure (cereals, legumes).

It is not recommended to grow it after potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, physalis, return to its original place earlier than in 2-3 years. Tobacco responds positively to humus and compost introduced before planting (2-3 kg per sq. M).

Seedlings ready for planting.

Seedlings are planted in pre-watered soil, deepening the stem by 3-4 cm. You can go deeper, but do not cover the growing point. 4-5 plants of large-leaved or 6-7 medium-leaved varieties are placed per square meter.

In the initial period of growth, the soil on the site is moistened, increasing the rate of water consumption as the plants grow. On light soils, water more often than on heavy soils. By the time of harvesting, the intensity of watering is reduced. After each watering, the aisles are loosened.

Tobacco is thermophilic, but temperatures above 35 degrees are unfavorable for it: young plants may die, and adults retard their development.

Tobacco nutrition

In the first half of the growing season, tobacco needs enhanced nitrogen nutrition. But overfeeding with nitrogen reduces the quality of raw materials: it turns out to be coarse, burning, and smells unpleasant. nitrogen fertilizers contribute before planting seedlings - 2-3 tbsp. spoons per sq. m.

Phosphorus and potassium are needed throughout the growing season. Phosphorus contributes to more early flowering, leaf maturation. Excess phosphorus leads to premature aging of the leaves. Tobacco also needs good potassium nutrition, but again without excess.

Tobacco plantation.

Excess potassium reduces the quality of tobacco: its smell becomes unpleasant. Usually potassium sulfate, superphosphate is applied for autumn digging - up to 0.5 cups per square meter. m.

When planting, you can add dissolved in water complex fertilizers(2 tablespoons per square meter), containing equal amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium.

For top dressing, you can use organic infusions. They are brought into the grooves made by a hoe in the middle of the row spacing.

To get good raw materials, plants stepchild during the growing season (remove lateral shoots) and top (cut off inflorescences).

When tobacco is removed - samosad

Harvesting begins when the leaves turn a light yellowish tint. The first to break out the lower leaves - 3-4 from each plant. The second collection is increased to 3-5, the third - up to 5-7 leaves. Then the number of harvested leaves begin to reduce.

Drying tobacco leaves.

The leaves are harvested in the morning after the dew has dried and in the evening. Before harvesting, the lowest (seedling) leaves are removed. Broken leaves lay plate to plate, petiole to petiole. Then, using a large needle, the leaves are strung on twine so that they do not stick to each other.

The first phase of drying the leaves is carried out at a temperature of 25-35 degrees and an air humidity of 75-90 percent. After the leaves turn from green to yellow, they are dried in the sun.

Infusion for pest control

0.5 kg of dry tobacco leaves pour 10 liters hot water, insist two days. Before spraying, add 40 g of laundry soap dissolved in water, dilute it by half with water and treat the plants against aphids, leafworms, spider mite, onion and cabbage moths, slugs.

On your site with a photo and a description of all actions. It will be interesting for both the novice tobacco grower and all other lovers.

If you have not read the first part, then be sure to read it. If you have already read it, then read on.

The tobacco is slowly growing.

A little yellowed, I associate this with cool weather and there is nothing wrong with that. It rains almost every day.

I fed the tobacco with a dry, water-soluble "fertik lux" 1 matchbox per bucket of water and 1 liter per plant. I loosened the ground and weeded it, by the way it is very convenient to loosen it with a Fokin flat cutter. They promise warmth on the street and then our plantings should start to grow.

The long-awaited warmth has come and it has even become very hot. Tobacco has more than doubled in a week (heat + top dressing) played a positive role.

American 26th overtakes everyone in height, but was the most stunted. In the photo below, he is in the foreground:

Removal of stepsons and bottom sheets.

Today I broke off the stepchildren and removed 3-4 of the lowest leaves so that they did not touch the ground. This was done to avoid viral diseases from the ground and for better ventilation. Also loosened the ground.

American 26 continues to amaze. With a height of 70 cm. it is about to bloom and has about 7-10 leaves. He doesn't want to grow up with me. Perhaps the cool spring and the cold beginning of summer affect. So he wants to quickly bring out the offspring, otherwise you never know what else the weather will throw out. Here he is:

How to grow tobacco without disease.

I came to the village and was upset. Trapezond 92, 9 out of 10 plants picked up bronzeness and the drug "prestige" did not help. I bought these seeds for the sake of interest that year in a store and sowed them, and there was also bronzeness and I also collected my seeds from diseased bushes. Maybe this is the reason, but most likely, it is necessary to do a crop rotation. I have tobacco in one place, it has been growing for the sixth year.

If you have such bronze veins, the bush will gradually begin to dry out, as in the photo below, and you will not be able to help it.
Such plants must be dug up and burned, trying not to hurt the healthy ones. This is what I'll do tomorrow.

Removed all diseased bushes. He did not burn it due to the fire hazard, he dragged it away from the site.

Havana also picked up this disease on three bushes, in the photo the patient is on the right.

Diseased plants, unlike healthy ones, develop much more slowly and their growth is 2-3 times lower.

With American 26, there’s nothing special to take, in general, see for yourself.

Fragrant I plant for the first time and I don’t know how tall it grows. I have it now about a meter and is already blooming.
And it seems that all the leaves are already ripe. And there are only 6-7 leaves per bush. They became dense and sticky, the central vein turned white and the leaf itself began to turn yellow. See photo below.

Tomorrow I’ll probably do the first breaking, and tonight I’ll see if the sheets remain in a horizontal position, then it’s definitely ripe, and if it rises to the top, then I’ll wait a bit.

First break

Last night, I made the first breaking of the Fragrant variety.

The central vein is white, the sheet broke with a crunch.

.

Today I hung it up for languor. As soon as the sheets turn yellow by 80-90 percent, I will move them apart for further drying.

Also today, the entire Aromatny variety was cultivated. (removed inflorescences)

How to grow tobacco from stepson.

The variety is really early. In a week I plan to collect all the leaves from it. Then I cut the trunks and bring them to the lower stepson, as in the photo below:

And I'll get a second harvest. There is still time left, the main thing is that autumn does not let you down and everything has time to dry.

The bundles that I hung up for languishing turned yellow and I parted them for drying.

I also broke off the fragrant variety to the end and cut it off for the lower stepson.

I chopped the trunks right into the garden, as organic matter. But, you can do this, provided that they did not hurt anything.

Another havana root has fallen ill, it already looks like a tobacco mosaic.

The bush has been removed. There is no need to feel sorry for such patients, you still get almost nothing from them, but there is a chance to infect healthy ones. Tobacco diseases are an insidious thing, they can destroy your entire crop. Two recent years, this infection side bypassed me, and now has again appeared.

The first piece of tobacco leaves had already begun to dry out, the second turned yellow and was parted.

At Havana, I cut off the flowers, for faster maturation of the leaves. In the photo, on the front bush, two or three lower leaves are almost ripe.

How to get a harvest twice a season.

The lower stepchildren of the variety are fragrant, they have grown noticeably. The leaf, of course, will be smaller in size than from the main bush, but nonetheless.

The second harvest from the fragrant variety has already begun to ripen. The sheets are not much smaller. No pain affects him. You can call him a favorite this year.

Havana on the upper leaves almost all seized bronze.

Plus, it also got mottled. They say that this is due to rainy weather (a lot of rain)

American 26 seeds are ripe, but I don't think I'll grow it again. He does not want to grow in my soil. But just in case, I cut off the panicle with seeds.

The tobacco is slowly drying in the dryer.

End of tobacco season.

We learned how to grow tobacco and now the end of the tobacco season is nearing.

The variety is fragrant, the second crop has ripened.

The leaves were removed and hung in the attic of the bathhouse. I didn’t hang it in the dryer, because. at night high humidity and the weather is predicted to be not very warm. So in the attic it will be the most.

I tried to smoke this "fragrant", a fortress of 5 out of 5 points. I like strong tobacco, and it didn't hurt anything. Other varieties seized bronze. So you can safely record this variety of tobacco as a leader for this year.

He also hung almost dry leaves in the attic, let them dry out there.

This was done due to the appearance of mold on the central vein due to high humidity.

The remains of tobacco from healthy bushes (we burn from sick ones) were crushed in the same place where they grew.

I mowed all the grass, and closer to winter I will plow the site.

That's actually all. How to ferment tobacco leaves read in the section tobacco fermentation.

P.S. What you need to pay attention to when growing: a disease that can kill part of your tobacco and plant a little more with this calculation. The drug "prestige" did not work out for me this year and out of 35 bushes 18 fell ill. And I don’t see any more problems with growing.

I hope I have described in detail how to grow tobacco. There will be questions, ask

Have a good harvest and delicious tobacco!

Tobacco ordinary (lat. Nicotiana tabacum), or real tobacco, or tobacco virginian is a species of herbaceous plants of the Tobacco genus of the Solanaceae family. AT industrial scale this type of tobacco is cultivated for its leaves, from which tobacco products for smoking are made.

Tobacco is native to Peru and Brazil. The first description of tobacco and its uses was given by Bernardine de Sahagún in the 16th century in his General History of the Affairs of New Spain. The scientist relied on information received from the Aztecs, who called tobacco herb pisitel and used to treat headaches, festering wounds, colds, runny nose, tumors, bloating and other ailments. Tobacco got its scientific name in honor of the French ambassador to Portugal, Jean Nicot, who in 1560 sent the seeds of this plant to Paris.

Today, tobacco is grown for the manufacture of cigars, cigarettes, cigarettes and other smoking products, and nicotinic acid is widely used to treat diseases such as diarrhea, dermatitis, glossitis, stomatitis and other diseases. However, it should be remembered that nicotine is very toxic, and some substances contained in tobacco are carcinogenic.

Planting and caring for smoking tobacco (in brief)

• Bloom: within 25-40 days from mid-summer.
• Landing: sowing tobacco for seedlings - in late February or early March, planting seedlings in the ground - from late April to late May.
• Lighting: bright sunlight.
• The soil: light, breathable and well-drained.
• Watering: regular as the topsoil dries.
• Top dressing: a few days after planting the seedlings, then two more times with an interval of 2-3 weeks. As a fertilizer, a solution of a complex mineral fertilizer or chicken manure (1:10).
• Topping and pinching: half of the peduncles should be broken out: this measure improves the quality of tobacco. Intensively formed after topping (breaking out peduncles) stepchildren should also be removed.
• Reproduction: seed.
• Pests: peach aphid, tobacco thrips and wireworms.
• Diseases: black root rot, dry root rot, black leg (seedling rot), powdery mildew, downy mildew (peronosporosis), white dry spot (alternaria), grouse and viral diseases - tobacco, or ordinary mosaic, cucumber mosaic, bronze (apical chlorosis) ) and white moth.

Growing details smoking tobacco read below

Smoking tobacco - description

Tobacco is an annual herbaceous plant, which reaches a height of 3 m. The stem of tobacco almost does not branch. Regular whole leaves at different varieties Virginian tobacco can be both narrow-lanceolate and broadly ovate in shape, and their number on one plant can vary from 16 to 60. The lower leaves are decurrent, the base of the leaf is semi-petiolate, the surface is resinous, fleecy. Reddish or pink funnel-shaped tobacco flowers are collected in narrow apical paniculate inflorescences. The main economically valuable features of tobacco are the size of the surface and the thickness sheet plate. Tobacco is cultivated in 84 countries of the world.

Cultivation of smoking tobacco

Sowing seeds of smoking tobacco for seedlings

Seeds of smoking tobacco have good germination, which lasts for years. You should know that shag (village tobacco) can grow in the middle zone and even in areas with a cooler climate, but tobacco is a heat-loving plant. How to grow smoking tobacco from seeds? To do this, use both seedling and seedless method. seedling method used for growing tobacco in cool regions, and in the area with warm climate seeds are sown directly into the ground.

In the photo: The flowering of smoking tobacco

Sowing tobacco for seedlings is done in late February or early March. The seed must first be kept in a damp cloth for a day until it swells, adding a few drops of tartaric acid or potassium nitrate crystals to the water to soak the tissue. This measure will speed up the emergence of seedlings by a week. After swelling, the seeds are washed, dried, placed on a damp cloth in an enameled or ceramic container and placed for germination in a warm place, keeping the cloth moist all the time. On the third or fourth day, small seedlings appear on the seeds.

Don't wait for the sprouts on the seeds to get too long because they break off easily.

When 2/3 of the seeds germinate, they are dried, carefully mixed with disinfected dry sand and sown on the surface of well-moistened soil from humus (three parts) and sand (one part), and sprinkled on top with a layer of the same substrate. The thickness of the covering layer for shag should be 3-5, and for tobacco - 7-8 mm. It is advisable to sow the seeds in separate containers - cups, peat pots or cassettes, since tobacco, like other nightshade crops, does not like transplants, and therefore picks. After sowing, the surface is watered through a thick strainer so as not to erode the covering layer of the substrate. Then the crops are covered with a film and placed in a bright place where direct sunlight does not fall.

Tobacco care during the seedling period

Keep a container with crops at a temperature of 23-28 ºC. Care consists of almost daily meager watering and mandatory two-time ventilation. When the hatched seedlings develop the first pair of true leaves, the temperature is lowered to 20 ºC, and the water consumption during irrigation is increased. At the stage of development of 3-4 leaves, if you planted in a box or container, the seedlings dive into a large container. In the future, fertile soil is sprinkled under the seedlings 2-3 times.

Feeding seedlings of tobacco solution 30 g ammonium nitrate and 20 g of sulfate or potassium chloride in 10 liters of water. From organic fertilizers it is better to use a solution of chicken manure: 1 kg of fertilizer is poured into a bucket of water, allowed to ferment for 10-12 days, stirring occasionally, after which the infusion is filtered and 4-5 volumes of water are added to it.

In the photo: How tobacco blooms

Seedlings will be ready for planting in open ground at the age of 40-45 days, when the seedlings will reach a height of 14-16 cm, acquire 5-6 true leaves, their stem will become 3-5 mm thick, and root system develop enough. However, 7-10 days before planting, the seedlings must be hardened, for which they must be taken out daily for some time for open air, gradually increasing the duration of the sessions. 2-3 days before planting, watering the seedlings is stopped, and 2-3 hours before planting, the seedlings are abundantly moistened.

Planting seedlings of tobacco in open ground

When they pass return frosts, and the soil at a depth of 10 cm warms up to 10 ºC, you can plant seedlings in the garden. Usually the necessary conditions accumulated from April 20 to May 25. The site for tobacco should be sunny, and the soil on it should be light and breathable. First you need to add ash or mullein to the soil for digging.

In the holes located at a distance of 50 cm from one another, half a liter of water must be poured before planting. When the water is absorbed, make a hole in the hole with a peg, place a seedling in it and sprinkle its roots first with moist soil, and on top with dry soil so that the moisture from the soil does not evaporate so quickly.

Garden tobacco care

How to grow smoking tobacco

Growing smoking tobacco is a simple process, but there are certain subtleties in it. Tobacco care consists of regular watering, loosening the soil around the bushes, removing weeds and timely feeding, which ideally should be at least three.

The first time tobacco is fed a few days after planting the seedlings in the ground, then after 2-3 weeks the second top dressing should follow, and 2-3 weeks after the second - the third. As fertilizers, a solution of chicken manure (1:10) or a solution of a complex mineral fertilizer prepared according to the instructions is used.

In the photo: Blooming tobacco

To obtain better quality smoking tobacco, the bushes should be trimmed, that is, about half of the flower arrows should be broken out of them. After this procedure, the tobacco will begin to actively form stepchildren, which also need to be removed.

Pests and diseases of smoking tobacco

Diseases of smoking tobacco

Tobacco can get fungal diseases such as black root rot, dry root rot, black leg (seedling rot), powdery mildew, downy mildew (peronosporosis), white dry spot (alternaria). Tobacco is also affected by bacterial ripples and viral diseases - tobacco, or ordinary mosaic, cucumber mosaic, bronze (apical chlorosis) and white moss.

Disease control measures. Concerning viral infections, then it is useless to fight them: you just need to remove and burn diseased plants. Against root rot, use Benlat's 50% wettable powder. And against bacterial grouse, peronosporosis, powdery mildew and other fungal diseases, preventive spraying of seedlings with a suspension of Zineb or Polycarbacin is effective. In general, the most reliable protection- This is a preventive treatment of soil and seeds before sowing. From fungal and bacterial diseases, tobacco seeds are treated for 15 minutes with a solution of Formalin: 20 cm³ of 40% Formalin is dissolved in 1 liter of water. Two liters of such a solution are consumed per 1 kg of seeds. The soil is also shed with formalin solution.

In the photo: Growing smoking tobacco on the site

Pests of smoking tobacco

Of the pests for tobacco, peach aphids, tobacco thrips and wireworms are dangerous.

peach aphid, which gives up to 18 generations in a season, sucks juice from tobacco leaves and leaves its excrement, skins after molting and corpses in them. In addition, she is a peddler of such dangerous incurable diseases as white moth and cucumber mosaic. Aphids deplete the plant, slow down its development, reduce yield and impair the taste of tobacco. The fight against aphids is carried out with Rogor and Metation preparations, and for preventive purposes, regular and thorough weeding of beds and daily inspection of tobacco leaves are very important.

Tobacco thrips- as small as aphids, a pest that gives up to 7 generations over the summer. Thrips bites tobacco leaves and sucks the juice out of them, from which the quality of raw materials and the yield of tobacco are sharply reduced: the affected leaves are poorly fermented, dry unevenly and become brittle after drying. In addition, thrips, like aphids, carry viral diseases. Tobacco infected with thrips should be treated with insecticides.

wireworms, or drupes- These are yellow-brown larvae of the click beetle, hard to the touch. They live in the ground, damage the roots, make moves in the stems of young plants and eat away the core in them. They are very difficult to fight, so you need to try to prevent them from appearing in the soil. If you find wireworms on the site, then two weeks before planting tobacco, treat the soil for digging with a twelve percent Hexachloran dust, and the next day, in the evening, pollinate the soil with Metaphos dust and harrow the area to a depth of 3-4 cm.

Collection of smoking tobacco and storage

Smoking tobacco in the country is grown on average from 15 to 17 weeks. When the tobacco leaves stop growing, they begin harvesting. At this time, the leaves reach their greatest density. Ripe tobacco leaves are lighter in color. Cleaning is done in the evenings, starting with the lower and largest leaves. Then, when the middle leaves ripen, they are also removed.

The collected leaves are dried, kept in a dark, well-ventilated room at a temperature of 25-30 ºC. During the drying process, the tobacco is fermented. Many people ferment already dried tobacco in electric oven at 50 ºC. Do not be afraid of electricity consumption: it is minimal.

In the photo: How tobacco blooms

What is tobacco fermentation and why is it needed? Fermentation is a process of change physical properties through biological or chemical influences. The natural fermentation of tobacco leaves is achieved by their long-term storage. Dominican tobacco, for example, is fermented for 5 years when stored in bales or in oak barrels. At artificial way fermentation is greatly accelerated. In order to ferment grown tobacco at home, you must proceed in the following order:

• dry tobacco leaves without traces of greenery (if there are green spots on the leaves, they must be cut out, because areas with chlorophyll are not fermented) are moistened on both sides from a spray bottle, stacked one on top of the other and covered with polyethylene;
• a day later, the middle vein is removed from each leaf, checking the degree of leaf moisture, on which the quality of fermentation depends: the leaf ready for further processing should not be raw and at the same time should not break at the bend. It should be dry and elastic, like a thin cloth. Too wet leaves will have to be dried, and dry leaves should be moistened and kept for some time in piles under polyethylene;
• leaves ready for fermentation are cut into strips. The noodle cutter copes well and quickly with this. The crushed tobacco is placed in glass jars, filling them no more than 2/3, so that later the tobacco is mixed by shaking. The jars are closed with twist lids, placed in the oven and set to 50 ºC. The fermentation process lasts from 5 to 7 days. Do not forget to shake the tobacco in the jars from time to time so that it cures evenly. There should be no condensation on the walls of the cans, and if it appears, the tobacco must be poured out and dried, after which the fermentation process is resumed. On the second or third day of the process, the tobacco begins to smell like honey or fruit, and this is a sure sign that the fermentation is successful;
• the finished tobacco is poured onto a flat surface, slightly dried, and then placed for storage in any hermetically sealed container.

Varieties of smoking tobacco

There are a great many varieties of tobacco, and the work of breeders to develop new varieties continues. Most in demand in household are the following varieties:

• Gold Virginia- tobacco with a fruity aroma and a delicate sweetish taste. This variety is the basis for many smoking blends;
• Kentucky Barley- a variety with a pleasant nutty aroma, does not contain sugar, so it does not need fermentation. That is, its dried leaves are steamed and immediately cut for smoking;
• Maryland- light, light air-dried tobacco with a wonderful aroma and taste, known since 1828. it high yielding variety early term maturation;
• Walkers Broadleaf- one of the most early varieties, which can be grown even in the northern regions;
• American- an early ripe semi-aromatic, disease-resistant tobacco used both for cigarettes and cigars and as pipe tobacco;
• Dukat Crimean- easily fermented aromatic tobacco with leaves up to half a meter long;
• Turkish Trebizond – fragrant variety for cigarettes and pipes, easy to ferment and resistant to adverse conditions. The variety was named after the city of Trabzon;
• Herzegovina Flor- tobacco with a unique taste and aroma comes from the former Yugoslavia. In the people, this variety is called Stalin's tobacco;
• Virginia 202- early ripe strong and fragrant tobacco, resistant to many diseases and practically does not require watering during cultivation. The variety is distinguished by reliability and unpretentiousness;
• Barley Original- strong tobacco, which is the basis for most smoking mixtures;
• Oriental Samsun- fragrant tobacco with a low nicotine content. Most fragrant when grown in dry soils. With watering, it loses its taste and aroma, but its yield increases;
• Soviet large-leaved- this disease-resistant variety is distinguished by its productivity and high smoking qualities of oriental tobaccos;
• Silk Leaf- a versatile large-leaved aromatic variety used both for cigarette and pipe blends and for the production of cigars;
• Dubec – Turkish variety, which is considered the best aromatic tobacco in the world. This is tobacco for true connoisseurs;
• Peric- aromatic oriental tobacco, known to smokers all over the world. After drying, the leaves of this variety are fermented in barrels, like cabbage, so that they acquire their unforgettable pungency and aroma.

Many gardeners who are in love with the aroma of cigar smoke often think about trying to grow tobacco on their plot. You can kill two birds with one stone - we get both a clean product for smoking, without chemical resins, and significant savings in the family budget. Contrary to concerns about the complexity of the process, no more difficult than planting and caring for others horticultural crops. And for those who like to experiment with exotic plants technology for growing tobacco at home seems to be quite simple.

The main thing, when deciding to grow tobacco, you need to remember that its taste is very much dependent on the condition of the soil. It will grow on almost any land, but its composition will certainly affect the aroma of the final product. Outwardly, this will be expressed in the size, color and texture of the leaves. Dry soils and a small amount of mineral salts give plants big size, pale color and almost complete lack of aroma. Small, but fleshy, bright, smelly leaves will be in tobacco grown in muddy and clay areas.

Film about growing tobacco from A to Z. From dawn to dusk.

Tobacco growing from seeds at home

Used for tobacco classical system growing from seeds to seedlings with further planting in open ground. Depending on the region, seeds begin to be sown in late February (in the south) or early April (northern regions). Tobacco seeds are very small and so that they are evenly distributed, they are mixed with fine dry humus. For one square meter area enough 0.4 g of seeds.

The optimum temperature for the appearance of friendly shoots is 28 0. Further, it is recommended to reduce it to 18-22 0. Seedlings that "live" indoors for about two months need plenty of light and high humidity– up to 80%. The dry period is set for plants only a week before being taken out into the ground. For two or three days before transplanting, it is recommended to cancel watering.

To landing on Fresh air it is advised to choose plants that have reached 13-15 cm and have at least seven leaves (including cotyledons). Land intended for growing tobacco must be prepared in advance. It will be good to introduce humus or rotted compost about two months before planting. The place of the future "plantation" should be inaccessible to the winds of the northern direction.

Tobacco can be planted after night frosts are practically excluded. But for the sake of safety, it is better to do this in two stages. During planting, the stem of the plant is buried about 4 cm into the ground, while making sure that the growth point is on the surface. Planting patterns for different varieties of tobacco vary. Large-leaved plants are planted according to the scheme of 30 * 70 cm, small-leaved - 15 * 60 cm, medium-leaved - 25 * 60 cm. The ridge must be watered before transplanting: light soil - in a few hours, clay soil - in a day. Established plants need to be watered abundantly - within 10 liters of water per 1 m 2. Further, moisture is increased - water must penetrate the soil by at least one meter.

Fertilize tobacco with standard organic matter - compost, chicken manure, manure, green manure. In the first half of development, plants need nitrogen (but not in excess), and potassium and phosphorus are recommended to be applied periodically throughout the entire growth period. The condition and color of the leaves are a good signal of the lack or excess of one or another element. A lack of phosphorus makes the lower leaves droop, and a high content of it leads to early aging and burning of the leaf. A lack of potassium gives the plant a bluish tint, the leaves begin to turn yellow, bulge and die.

In the care of tobacco plants, topping is practiced - the removal of lateral shoots that tend to grow from the leaf axils. How large to carry out the procedure depends on the soil of the tobacco plantation, the weather and the variety of tobacco.

Leaves are considered ripe when they begin to turn slightly yellow. The ripening period for different varieties varies from 72 to 108 days. Maturation proceeds in stages, starting with lower leaves. They are broken out in the morning or in the evening, evenly strung on twine, then languished and dried.

If you have decided to growing tobacco at home, you can easily find more detailed information about care methods and ways correct processing raw materials. Technology of growing tobacco at home with proper observance, it will allow you to stock up on smoking raw materials for a whole year.

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