When a crop is introduced to a new area, a production plan is given, which can be adopted and following to achieve good yields. Production plan(production technology) is produced after doing research and many experiments.
Tobacco
.Cigarette Tobacco : Nicotiana tabacum
.Hukka Tobacco : Nicotiana rustica
.Family : Solanaceae
History:
The origin of tobacco production in Pakistan(formerly Hindustan) dates of the region of emperor Akber , when it was introduced by the europeans. Now a days tobacco is grown in Attock , Sialkot, Peshawer , Narowal and Sahiwal etc.
Economic Importance:
Tobacco is an important cash crop of Pakistan and brings in a considerable amount of foreign exchange. It is source of employment for thousands of people who are involved with producing, curing, marketing and cigarette manufacturing. Tobacco stem contains 0.14% of nicotine which is used as insecticides.
Important Varieties:
.KPK : Sufaid and Kala patta .Punjab : naki, calcatta, SL-78, SL-75 .Sindh : Rubaki, Rustica-6
Tobacco completes its life cycle in two phases:
- Nursery
- Field
Raising Of Nursery:
Soil should be light loam. Nursery bed should be located in well drained soil close to the fresh water sources. Saline soils must be avoided. Bed should be east-west orientation.
Bed Sterilization:
To make the soil free from soil borne diseases sterilization is necessary. There are two methods of sterilization. 1.Burning 2. Chemicals.
Soil & Climate:
Tobacco needs well drained, light to medium texture soil with ph 5.5-7. Saline and alkali soils should be avoided. The limiting factors in tobacco production are frost, early monsoon rains, wind storms, hailstorms and nonavailability of irrigation water.
Time and Seed rate:
Best time for nursery raising is October to November 15. The seed rate for raising a nursery is about 25 to 30 g per hectare. And nursery should be transplanted after 2 to 3 months.
Hardening:
Hardening is a process in which no water, no fertilizer is given to nursery before 7-10 days of transplanting. Hardening prevents the seedlings from injury.
Transplanting of Nursery:
Ideal time for transplanting of nursery is feb-march. Transplanting is done manually by hands. Transplanting is done in standing water. One seedling is enough for one hill and nursery should be transplant in morning and evening.
Field Preparation:
4-5 ploughing followed by planking. After ploughing the field is divided into small plots. Levelling is necessary. Then ridges are made.
Fertilizer Application & Irrigation:
Nitrogen: N is used to stimulate the growth and increasing the crop yield. The optimum dose of N is 35kg/ha.
Phosphorus: The optimum dose of P is 70kg/ha and 8-10 irrigations are enough for tobacco.
Plant Protection:
Cut worms and jassids are important insect of tobacco. Seven 10% dust & Diazinon 16% @ 10kg/ha.
Diseases:
.Tobacco mosaic .Root rot .Leaf Spot.
Interculture & Weeding:
Tobacco competes poorly with weeds. So weeding is done manually.
Hoeing:
Hoeing is done to keep the soil aerated and to control weeds.
Topping and De suckering:
Topping in tobacco is the removal of terminal bud just after the appearance of flowers head. The removal of suckers (forth shoots) is known as de suckering. Suckers could be controlled by FST-7 and Royal MH-30.
Harvesting , Drying & Curing:
After maturity harvesting is done manually and crop is dried for 2-3 days.
Curing:
Curing is a process in which dried crop is collected and buried in a pit for 10-15 days for bacterial fermentation. Then ropes are made.
Yield:
The leaf yield of hukka tobacco is 2500-3000kg/ha.
The leaf yield of cigarette tobacco is 2000kg/ha.
Author: Muhammad Hussnain