Tobaccofieldsforever 2022 Grow Log

[deluxestogie]

The inhalation risk is associated with issues in immune compromised individuals, or those with significant emphysema and diminished lung clearance mechanics. (Just about any bacterium can grow in chronically cruddy lungs, if the circumstances are favorable.)

Bob

 

[furryfreek]

the CABI website has lists of natural enemies: Aizawai and Kurstaki. I don't think the other strains are effective against caterpillars.

edit: their page for Kurstaki lacks a list of natural enemies but is does come up if you search for a particular moth/butterfly species, e.g. M. Brassicae

 

[deluxestogie]

Just buy the one with pictures of caterpillars on the label. [I've used Thuricide, which is Kurstaki subspecies.]

Bob

 

[Tobaccofieldsforever]

This harrow velvet plant was topped early because it went to seed early. Anyway, I don’t have a whole lot of experience with burleys and it is starting to show signs of maturation (mottled yellow coloring) on top leaves. I know this and some others get quite yellow at maturation. Does this plant need primed or is it still early?

 

[deluxestogie]

Lots of yellow mottling and rugosity. You could certainly prime all the leaf on that plant now. My suggestion would be to cut the stalk, and hang the entire stalk to color-cure. It's less work, and with such a short plant, you won't need much vertical hanging space.

Bob

 

[Tobaccofieldsforever]

I've never been able to identify those teardrop eggs. I see some every season. I just pluck them off. I have not associated them with any leaf damage.

Bob

I held onto them. This is what came out last night:

 

[deluxestogie]

Benefits of Long-Legged Flies in Gardens & Yards - Alabama Cooperative Extension System

If you see long-legged flies in your garden or yard, don’t grab insecticide. These beneficial predators help reduce many insect pests.

www.aces.edu

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

Types of Flies: Pictures and Fly Identification Help - Green Nature

A multi-page special presentation of common types of flies in residential areas across the United States. Pictures included.

greennature.com

I've narrowed it down. It's either the Loving Motherhood Apple Pie Fly, or the Black Viper Death Pirate Plague Fly.

Bob

 

[tullius]

Here's hoping it's number one, because it belies the possibility of windowsill apple pie

 

[Tobaccofieldsforever]

Types of Flies: Pictures and Fly Identification Help - Green Nature

A multi-page special presentation of common types of flies in residential areas across the United States. Pictures included.

greennature.com

I've narrowed it down. It's either the Loving Motherhood Apple Pie Fly, or the Black Viper Death Pirate Plague Fly.

Bob

Like the great modern day philosopher Kermit the frog says: “time is fun when you’re having flies.”

 

[Tobaccofieldsforever]

Should I dispose of all this oriental seed in the trash or something when the time comes? I’m worried if I leave it in the field I will have a lot of volunteers in the future. I am also curious, does sun cured oriental need additional aging when complete? I know that I’m general some rest/ aging is beneficial to any tobacco but I have also read that curing such as flue/sun/fire kills whatever part of the leaf that aging benefits…?

 

[deluxestogie]

I have never experienced a problem with volunteers from open-bud Orientals. I assume that most of that dispersed seed does not survive the bed preparation and late spring frosts.

Temperatures above 149°F will destroy the primary oxidizing enzyme. So flue-curing does that. Generally, sun-curing and traditional fire-curing does not. The secondary oxidizing enzyme is destroyed at ~191°F. All tobacco will "age". The speed of that aging is about 80 times faster with both enzymes intact. It is much slower with only the secondary enzyme. Since enzymes (bio-catalysts) do not create a chemical reaction, but only accelerate a chemical reaction, even Cavendish (cooked) tobacco will age—eventually, so long as any oxygen and humidity are present. In any case, storage temperature also influences the rate of "aging" in tobacco.

Constantinides observed in the early 20th century that sun-cured Orientals needed to sit, stacked in bales in a warm, Turkish warehouse, in order to become a high quality leaf.

Bob

 

[skychaser]

Should I dispose of all this oriental seed in the trash or something when the time comes? I’m worried if I leave it in the field I will have a lot of volunteers in the future. I am also curious, does sun cured oriental need additional aging when complete? I know that I’m general some rest/ aging is beneficial to any tobacco but I have also read that curing such as flue/sun/fire kills whatever part of the leaf that aging benefits…?View attachment 42890

Any seed head I don't like gets tossed on the ground. Didn't get bagged, off type, whatever. I've never had a volunteer tobacco come up. Occasionally a Rustica manages to reseed itself, but never a Tobaccum strain.

 

[Tobaccofieldsforever]

I have never experienced a problem with volunteers from open-bud Orientals. I assume that most of that dispersed seed does not survive the bed preparation and late spring frosts.

Temperatures above 149°F will destroy the primary oxidizing enzyme. So flue-curing does that. Generally, sun-curing and traditional fire-curing does not. The secondary oxidizing enzyme is destroyed at ~191°F. All tobacco will "age". The speed of that aging is about 80 times faster with both enzymes intact. It is much slower with only the secondary enzyme. Since enzymes (bio-catalysts) do not create a chemical reaction, but only accelerate a chemical reaction, even Cavendish (cooked) tobacco will age—eventually, so long as any oxygen and humidity are present. In any case, storage temperature also influences the rate of "aging" in tobacco.

Constantinides observed in the early 20th century that sun-cured Orientals needed to sit, stacked in bales in a warm, Turkish warehouse, in order to become a high quality leaf.

Bob

Cool, thank you. @skychaser thank you sir as well. Now I have a question for either or both of you or anybody who may know. Could there be such thing as a sterile tobacco plant? I realize it would have to be the f1 product of a cross or some other kind of genetic anomaly. Remember that strange oriental I had grown out that was not a basma type but had the long thin leaf structure instead? Well I have been attempting to save seed from it and any flowers that wilt and fall take the whole bud with them! This seems to be the case for EVERY flower on the plant, not just a few. So, I was wondering if it was just incapable of fertilizing itself or something??

 

[Tobaccofieldsforever]

Buckeye red is doing nicely since I removed the 30 plus hornworms I found on these two rows.

 

[deluxestogie]

The Buckeye Red is beautiful leaf. I've forgotten what class that is.

Many hybrids of N. tabacum x N. rustica are sterile. [If I recall correctly, the N. rustica pistil cannot be pollinated by N. tabacum pollen, but the N. tabacum pistil can be sometimes (like 1 in 20 attempts) pollinated by N. rustica pollen.]

The following link seems slightly off-topic, but it is a thorough (and sometimes amusing) discussion of pollination and sterility:

How to Intentionally Cross Tobacco Varieties

Creating an intentional cross is technically easy, though it is tedious. Here, I explain the basic procedure. Unbagged tobacco blossoms will randomly cross with whatever varieties of N. tabacum happen to be growing within a half-mile. What you end up with, even from a single mature seed...

fairtradetobacco.com

Bob

 

[Tobaccofieldsforever]

The Buckeye Red is beautiful leaf. I've forgotten what class that is.

So have I!..ha!! My dad has been growing it for 20 years now. It came from a commercial tobacco farmer in Maryland who called it his personal stock. He said he had been “working on it” (I assume that means it is a hybrid that he created and grew true) for 20 years. It seems to have qualities of many different varieties. I have a different question for you though. I know you have a “curing shed”. This year I am using an old chicken coop to hang tobacco in. It has two windows that open and close and a door. If I close everything on it on a hot day like today (in the 90s) it can get VERY hot in there (probably 140 or so…maybe even more, haven’t actually measured it yet.) anyway, my question is, what do you do with yours? I assume I don’t want it that insanely hot when hanging burley. It is well made and relatively well insulated:

 

[deluxestogie]

My shed is rather ancient. It's made of thick, oak planks, with no battens to seal the gaps. The roof is metal. There is no insulation. It has a door and one window.

The same wall viewed from the interior.

The door remains always open, with the screen door closed. I anchored a "baffle" to block half the doorway (using an old, metal louvered, folding closet door). This limits any blown rain to the corner with no tobacco.

Above the single window, I attached a window casement cover, to also prevent rain intrusion.

During the day and the night, the summer and the winter, it just sits there as is. The tin roof heats the interior to a little above ambient, while the passive ventilation limits that rise. When the nights cool down, and the humidity climbs, the leaf absorbs some moisture. [I used to keep a window fan blowing outward constantly. But I've noticed that the passive ventilation works just as well. So I no longer use the fan.]

Given my above the Blue Ridge location, this has allowed tobacco to air-cure easily, and hang for as much as a year, without problems.

For structures without these fortuitous conditions, the best you can do is ventilate to reduce temps during color-curing, and close up if the 3 day average humidity remains above about 75%, hoping the rising temps during the day will reduce the interior RH. If your shed is approaching 140°F during the day, then maintain some ventilation. [Fire-curing was invented for areas that are persistently too humid during the curing season. The late autumn tobacco auctions were invented to get the leaf out of the shed as soon as possible.]

Bob

 

[skychaser]

Could there be such thing as a sterile tobacco plant?

Yes. Many of the hybrid Burleys and Bright Leafs grown commercially today are sterile. And I have no idea why, but occasionally the flowers on heirlooms will lack female parts do to some environmental factor. I've had it happen on big grows of Izmir and Florida Sumatra in different years. Both times it was from my own seed stock that I had grown before and have grown since with no problems. I got lots of flowers but no seed.

I have a tobaccum x rustica cross that isn't sterile. I have some picts of it somewhere. It looks like what you might expect. Has obvious qualities of both plants. I don't know what good it is though. Unless you wanted to breed some of the rusticas traits into another tobaccum strain. ??

That Buckeye Red looks like something I should grow. Nice plants. And it looks like it might be a white stemmed burley to me. It will be easier to tell for sure when it starts to ripen up.

That is a very nice looking field you have there Mr TF. Some very top grade looking plants in every row. And my compliments of the excellent job of weed control. It matters!

 

[plantdude]

@skychaser this is a pic from last years tobaccum X rustica cross that you sent me seed of. Beautiful plants. They are worth growing for looks alone. They seemed hardier than most of my regular rusticas. I only have one left growing this year after this springs planting fiasco. It has been less than enthused with our drought and heat this year so I'll spare a more recent photo.

No issues with sterility - other than bud worms eating my seed...