Tobacco Beneventano
It is a tobacco derived from Brazil Bahia, grown in the Brazilian state of Bahia. The original tobaccos from Bahia are used in the manufacture of cigars, especially for [wrapper] and [binder]. Benevento is a dark air-cured tobacco fermented during the cure.
Botanical characters
It is a conical plant, up to 1.60 meters high, which under normal cultivation conditions provides 20 to 25 useful leaves. The leaves, ranging in size from 15 to 45 cm, are lanceolate, narrow at the base and with a slightly deviated apex; they are shiny and smooth, with a soft green color. The flower has a pink or almost red corolla.
Features of production
Cultivation areas In Italy, Benevento tobacco was introduced around 1840, in the province of Benevento from which it took its name (due to its Brazilian origin it was also called Brasile Beneventano). Cultivation was then extended to other regions (Tuscany, Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy, Marche), but with unsatisfactory results.
Its greatest expansion took place until 1976, subsequently due to the lower demand it was replaced with other types of dark tobaccos (especially Badischer Geudertheimer). Cultivation, suspended in 1987, was resumed in Campaniain 1995, where it grows particularly well in the hilly terrain of the provinces of Benevento and Avellino; it occupies a share of around 0.2% of the national production of dark tobaccos.
Nursery
Nurseries are prepared in January-February, and are generally covered with gauze. Good germination seeds are used, possibly treated with a fungicide. With 1 gram of seed about 3 square meters of seedbed are obtained, while to obtain seedlings necessary for one hectare of cultivation, about 120 square meters of seedbed are needed.
Soil and fertilization
It prefers hilly, sunny, medium-textured, deep, rich in potassium and fertile soils, in areas with mild spring and hot-humid summer.
Cultivation
The transplant is carried out in May-June, on well-worked soils, with seedlings at distances of 70 x 60 cm. An average of 24,000 to 26,000 plants per hectare are planted. During the vegetation the soil is worked with weeding, to free it from weeds. Topping is done with the flower button still closed, leaving 18-20 useful leaves including those of low crown destined to be eliminated.
Harvest and care
The harvest is done in leaves, between August and October. Under normal cultivation conditions, Benevento tobacco provides 1,000 to 1,400 kilograms of green leaves per hectare. The Benevento area undergoes a typical cure-fermentation process (called "infocatura"), carried out on green tobacco. The collected leaves are piled on the floor of the nursing room for 24 hours, and covered with straw. Then the strands are formed, with about 300 leaves, which are spread out in the open until completely yellowing. The leaves withered and yellowed by exposure to the sun are gathered in small [piles] with the basal part of the leaves facing outwards, for 24 hours.
The [piles] are then subjected to a series of fermentations, increasing the humidity with a short and partial immersion in hot water; this determines a rapid rise in temperature in 48 hours, up to 60°C [140°F] This operation is repeated several times, for another 48 hours, [disassembling] the masses and reforming them with the leaves in an inverted position. At the end the product takes on a dark brown color with loss of most of the water of the leaves. The treatment is then completed by drying the edges and ribs of the leaves, stretching the strands in the air. In total, the treatment cycle lasts 6-7 days.
Preparation of the product
The cured leaves have a dark brown or vinous brown color, and a spicy aroma due to the presence of acetic acid. The Benevento is sorted by classes divided by degree of ripeness of the leaves, integrity and result of the care. The final product, prepared in booklets or in batches, has a fine, resistant and highly combustible fabric; it is used in blends for dark cigarettes, in pipe shredders and in the production of cigars.
(Giampietro Diana)
This material was provided by @Alpine
It is a tobacco derived from Brazil Bahia, grown in the Brazilian state of Bahia. The original tobaccos from Bahia are used in the manufacture of cigars, especially for [wrapper] and [binder]. Benevento is a dark air-cured tobacco fermented during the cure.
Botanical characters
It is a conical plant, up to 1.60 meters high, which under normal cultivation conditions provides 20 to 25 useful leaves. The leaves, ranging in size from 15 to 45 cm, are lanceolate, narrow at the base and with a slightly deviated apex; they are shiny and smooth, with a soft green color. The flower has a pink or almost red corolla.
Features of production
Cultivation areas In Italy, Benevento tobacco was introduced around 1840, in the province of Benevento from which it took its name (due to its Brazilian origin it was also called Brasile Beneventano). Cultivation was then extended to other regions (Tuscany, Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy, Marche), but with unsatisfactory results.
Its greatest expansion took place until 1976, subsequently due to the lower demand it was replaced with other types of dark tobaccos (especially Badischer Geudertheimer). Cultivation, suspended in 1987, was resumed in Campaniain 1995, where it grows particularly well in the hilly terrain of the provinces of Benevento and Avellino; it occupies a share of around 0.2% of the national production of dark tobaccos.
Nursery
Nurseries are prepared in January-February, and are generally covered with gauze. Good germination seeds are used, possibly treated with a fungicide. With 1 gram of seed about 3 square meters of seedbed are obtained, while to obtain seedlings necessary for one hectare of cultivation, about 120 square meters of seedbed are needed.
Soil and fertilization
It prefers hilly, sunny, medium-textured, deep, rich in potassium and fertile soils, in areas with mild spring and hot-humid summer.
Cultivation
The transplant is carried out in May-June, on well-worked soils, with seedlings at distances of 70 x 60 cm. An average of 24,000 to 26,000 plants per hectare are planted. During the vegetation the soil is worked with weeding, to free it from weeds. Topping is done with the flower button still closed, leaving 18-20 useful leaves including those of low crown destined to be eliminated.
Harvest and care
The harvest is done in leaves, between August and October. Under normal cultivation conditions, Benevento tobacco provides 1,000 to 1,400 kilograms of green leaves per hectare. The Benevento area undergoes a typical cure-fermentation process (called "infocatura"), carried out on green tobacco. The collected leaves are piled on the floor of the nursing room for 24 hours, and covered with straw. Then the strands are formed, with about 300 leaves, which are spread out in the open until completely yellowing. The leaves withered and yellowed by exposure to the sun are gathered in small [piles] with the basal part of the leaves facing outwards, for 24 hours.
The [piles] are then subjected to a series of fermentations, increasing the humidity with a short and partial immersion in hot water; this determines a rapid rise in temperature in 48 hours, up to 60°C [140°F] This operation is repeated several times, for another 48 hours, [disassembling] the masses and reforming them with the leaves in an inverted position. At the end the product takes on a dark brown color with loss of most of the water of the leaves. The treatment is then completed by drying the edges and ribs of the leaves, stretching the strands in the air. In total, the treatment cycle lasts 6-7 days.
Preparation of the product
The cured leaves have a dark brown or vinous brown color, and a spicy aroma due to the presence of acetic acid. The Benevento is sorted by classes divided by degree of ripeness of the leaves, integrity and result of the care. The final product, prepared in booklets or in batches, has a fine, resistant and highly combustible fabric; it is used in blends for dark cigarettes, in pipe shredders and in the production of cigars.
(Giampietro Diana)
This material was provided by @Alpine
