Ripe tobacco leaf

[ChinaVoodoo]

A certain 0° wouldn't phase me in the least. The freezing point of tobacco is below - 3°C. But if it reaches that, it's screwed. It would be better to harvest early via stalk harvesting, and try to cure it.

 

[Methanol007]

Is there theoretically a way of speeding up the ripeness? Growers of certain other plants reduce the time of light exposure inside their tents, in order to trick the plant into believing its autumn or late summer, leading the plant to produce the flowers way sooner. Could this theoretically also work with tobacco? Or do the leaves ripe independently? Im pretty sure i’ve seen an indoor grower priming in a time of two months. This would be a great method for testing out new strains in a short period of time. I‘ll maybe start an own thread for this, but incase anybody already knows something about this method i would love to hear about the results and the amount of the yield.

 

[GreenDragon]

Tobacco will happily flower (and continue growing) from mid summer up to the first freeze of winter. In other words, flowering doesn’t directly affect leaf ripeness. My experience is that it’s the age (maturity) of the leaf that induces senescence (ripening). For better yield the flower buds are picked off to divert nutrients to the leaves.

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

This question (and answer) has come up before. I'm going from memory rather than looking up a reference, but I recall that only a small number of tobacco strains have been shown to flower based on length of night. White mammoth being one of them, i think.

 

[Radagast]

Although this is my first season growing tobacco, I'm trying to do the opposite. I want the plant to spend it's energy making leaves, not flowers.
Shortening the light cycle of photoperiodic plants will cause them to go from their vegetative growth phase (where they spend all their energy producing strong stems and leaves), to the flowering phase that's all.

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

Although this is my first season growing tobacco, I'm trying to do the opposite. I want the plant to spend it's energy making leaves, not flowers.
Shortening the light cycle of photoperiodic plants will cause them to go from their vegetative growth phase (where they spend all their energy producing strong stems and leaves), to the flowering phase that's all.

Well, what I said about light period works both ways for tobacco. Lack of photo period response.

As further anecdotal evidence, consider how northern growers like myself and @Hasse SWE with 17hr daylight still get flowering.

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

The best way to promote leaf growth instead of seeds is to top them.

 

[deluxestogie]

...AND remove all suckers (at least until the primary leaf has been harvested).

 

[Methanol007]

Are there any other practical ways in speeding up the ripeness? Please don’t get me wrong it’s not that im that impatient, But due to my limited space i always have choose very wisely what strains i plant. I have a grow tent so I hoped I could taste myself through the strains. Im still curious on why the times of harvesting differs that much. As mentioned above there are growers who harvested in a time span of 2-4 month from germinating while others had to wait for 7-8 months. Again this not me being that impatient it‘s just a newbe trying to understand why there are so many irregularities between the growth and harvest of one plant.

I hope i don’t annoy you guys.
Oh yeah and thanks for the answers from the previous question!

 

[deluxestogie]

• soil tilth and drainage
• soil fertility, nutrient and micro-nutrient balance, and pH
• frequency, intensity and duration of rainfall events or irrigation
• sun angle, daylight period, cloud cover patterns
• herbivore insect pressure
• temperature minimum and maximum pattern
• nighttime ambient light pollution
• tobacco variety (there are over 3000 of them)
• epigenetic factors from conditions during the season the seed was formed

Summary: they are plants.

Bob

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

Ethrel. Don used it once and was happy with the results.

Ethrel

Ethrel is a growth regulator used in major horticultural crops and cereals. It promotes ripening in tomatoes, reduces curing time and promotes colour development in flue-cured tobacco, accelerates fruit maturity in apples and blueberries and loosens mature fruit from the stem in cherries for...

www.cropscience.bayer.ca

 

[deluxestogie]

Ethephon (Ethrel) enhances the release of ethylene from the plants to which it is applied. You apply it. The leaves begin to clear their chlorophyll, and reveal the carotinoids that we see as a yellow color. What happens to the acquisition of tobacco alkaloids that would normally continue to concentrate in the leaves until they begin to ripen?

I can't answer that.

Bob

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

Ethrel. Don used it once and was happy with the results.

Ethrel

Ethrel is a growth regulator used in major horticultural crops and cereals. It promotes ripening in tomatoes, reduces curing time and promotes colour development in flue-cured tobacco, accelerates fruit maturity in apples and blueberries and loosens mature fruit from the stem in cherries for...

www.cropscience.bayer.ca

I was incorrect. It wasn't Don. It was @Ben Brand .

Here's the post.

what is curing gas??

I would suggest that the combination of temp and bucket had more toyellowing than the bananas? Maybe try two buckets treated the same in single batch, with and without the fruit and compare the difference?

fairtradetobacco.com

 

[GreenDragon]

If there was a proven, repeatable, and economical way to speed ripening, then Big Tobacco and the SA cigar plantations would be implementing it. Because for any business, time is Money.

 

[wruk53]

This question (and answer) has come up before. I'm going from memory rather than looking up a reference, but I recall that only a small number of tobacco strains have been shown to flower based on length of night. White mammoth being one of them, i think.

This spring i'm growing 2 strains, prilep and ahus. I started all seedlings in the same cabinet under an LED growlight, with 16 hrs light and 8 hrs darkness. The Ahus began putting on blooms a few weeks after transplant and only 4 to 6 leaves formed. The prilep has shown no signs of blooming and is growing rapidly. So I would say the ahus is a photoperiod type and prilep is not. All plants are being grown exactly the same way, so it must be that going from 16 hours of light per day to about 12 hours a day triggered the ahus to flower. Will not be growing the ahus again.

 

[GIL]

Ahus (Alida) is an early type. Some say that it can give 2 or even 3 harvests, it is worth trying. I have some "Ahus" plants (I think), I am thinking of trying a "triple" crop.