Tobacco seeds. strains, history and cultivation.

[El Presidente]

I was asked yesterday if there was one ongoing thread that explored the world of cigat tobacco seeds, strains, history and cultivation.  we have certainly touched on the subject before but it is a good opportunity to put together a resource of links and articles for members to peruse.  For the purposes of the exercise, all contributors to this thread (article/link) before the 24th go into the draw for a 3 pack of Esplendidos or similar 

Gracias people. Once done we will move the thread to the reFOHrence section. 

[El Presidente]

Excellent article by Gregory Mottola. 

Follow the link

https://www.cigaraficionado.com/article/heirloom-seeds-19428

Heirloom Seeds

Tobacco growers are looking to the past for new flavor, working with old seeds once lost to the annals of time

By Gregory Mottola | From Maggie Siff, July/August 2017

 

https://www.cigaraficionado.com/article/heirloom-seeds-19428

[Shrimpchips]

Another earlier article by Gregory for CA on Cuban tobacco strains:

 

https://www.cigaraficionado.com/article/tobacco-typology-18123

[NSXCIGAR]

https://www.cigaraficionado.com/article/tobacco-typology-18123

https://www.cigaraficionado.com/article/a-passion-for-seeds-18248

https://www.coronacigar.com/Cigar-101/8/

[Jimmy_jack]

Regarding Corojo leaf for wrappers and it’s loss to the Cuban cigar world. 
 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corojo

[ha_banos]

Great thread here 😁

https://www.friendsofhabanos.com/forum/topic/134719-tobacco-seed-changewhat’s-the-deal/

[Bijan]

Some threads:

 

 

[Chucko8]

https://www.cigaraficionado.com/article/a-passion-for-seeds-18248

“SEEDS DEVELOPED IN CUBA”

CRIOLLO & COROJO STRAINS – In the early 20th century, there was an active effort in trying to develop and improve the 'black Cuban tobacco' or Tabaco Negro Cubano. So, in 1937 the cigar industry opened its very first research and testing station in San y Martinez, in the hopes of creating an even better strain of the tobacco. They wanted to develop a strain that provided a classic Cuban flavour while also being resistant to the invasion of pests. So in 1941, the ‘Criollo’ seed variety was created. Since then, this new variety has become the basis of all approved seeds for the cultivation of tobacco for Havana cigars. This strain is used in all Habanos cigars such as the Partagas Serie D No. 4 and the Montecristo Linea 1935 Dumas Cigar. Many years later, this new strain was further developed into another variety called the ‘Corojo’, which is commonly used in growing wrappers for cigars. Today, there are four tobacco research stations where all the Cuban tobacco leaves are researched, controlled and developed.

[saltbox]

History of Criollo and how it came and went over Cuba's history dating back to pre-Spanish influence: https://www.shelterwoodforestfarm.com/blog/2020/5/2/the-life-death-and-rebirth-of-cubas-most-historic-tobacco

A quick list of detailed info about the diseases tobacco faces: https://www.reddit.com/r/cigars/comments/1ye3h1/weekly_wednesday_drop_today_the_enemies_of_tobacco/

 

[Wolvan]

There’s been some repeats in the above comments, guys please read what’s already been posted to try help contribute a more diverse amount of information.

https://sustainableseedco.com/pages/how-to-start-tobacco-seeds

http://www.uky.edu/Ag/TobaccoProd/pubs/completevarlistRVSD07.pdf

http://www.uky.edu/Ag/Tobacco/agr_notes/agvl30_8.pdf

http://www.uky.edu/Ag/TobaccoProd/id160 burley varieties 2015-16.pdf

http://howtogrow-tobacco.blogspot.com/2017/08/is-it-illegal-to-grow-tobacco-in.html

[La_Tigre]

Interesting read about home cultivating.

https://www.seedman.com/tobbook.pdf

[Corylax18]

During the roughly 15% of the time that the Habanos S.A. website is functioning, its actually an amazing source of information on Everything Cuban Cigar. I highly recommend lighting up a nice big cigar and reading through all 32 sections. I only linked the general site and the 3 most pertinent sections to this thread below. 

The first link is to the General "World of Habanos" page and the second talks specifically about seeds, strains and the Cuban Tobacco institute. The third and 4th delve into Cuban Tobacco Cultivation Techniques. I 

http://www.habanos.com/en/el-mundo-del-habano/

http://www.habanos.com/en/el-mundo-del-habano/la-hoja-ideal-para-cada-proposito/

http://www.habanos.com/en/el-mundo-del-habano/el-toque-magico-del-veguero/

http://www.habanos.com/en/el-mundo-del-habano/el-toque-magico-del-veguero-ii/

 

[rjake100]

I found an article from a 2015 issue of 'Focus on Geography.'  The article was only available for viewing on archive.org.  I used screenshots to create a pdf of the article, and then I uploaded it to my google drive.  Hopefully this is accessible.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1d828WFVRIzxY9sXhDwVl-WuJXIUohA-y/view?usp=drivesdk

[Cigar Surgeon]

What happens when you transplant Cuban tobacco and grow it in the USA:

https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdf/10.1086/330738

Quote

The plants grown from this freshly imported seed broke up into many diff erent types . This breaking up of type is due to the effect of the change of soil and climatic conditions, resulting in striking variation in the plants grown from the imported seed. The variation is particularly marked where southern seed is taken to northern tobacco districts. 

Whoo boy this should be a great read. Here's two quick hits on Blue Mold and Black Shank:

https://www.cigaraficionado.com/article/what-is-blue-mold

Quote

Blue mold, or Peronopora hyoscyami, is an airborne fungus that is common in tobacco fields around the world. It can be mild, present in only a small number of plants, or it can be extreme, destroying an entire crop. The disease gets its name from the blue-like color that it can give to the veins near the damage, even though the spots it leaves tend to be white in color.

https://www.apsnet.org/edcenter/disandpath/oomycete/pdlessons/Pages/BlackShank.aspx

Quote

Black shank can be a devastating root and crown rot disease of all types of tobacco, with losses in individual fields reaching 100%. The disease was first described from Indonesia in 1896, but has since spread to most major tobacco growing areas worldwide. Management requires an integrated approach based on cultural practices, host resistance, and soil applied fungicides.

 

[djrey]

I have always found the Connecticut River Valley region to be very interesting. Here are a few pieces that help explain this one unique area well. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VTHUcQ-QXQ

https://foundationcigarcompany.com/two-cigar-aficionado-videos-feature-nick-melillo-in-series-from-the-farm/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJ63Ng8nSb0

 

Additionally, I find PA produced cigar tobacco very interesting as well. Many people don't know that PA produces wrapper leaf for cigars. From the samples I have had it is very reminiscent of CRV. 

https://www.cigaraficionado.com/article/tobacco-in-amish-country-7556

 

[Ryan]

Regarding diseases, parasites etc. that affect tobacco in Cuba, I see Black Shank mentioned and Blue Mold. But no mention at all of Tobacco Mosaic Virus or Weather Fleck? Then there’s Tobacco budworm (Heliothis Virescens), Broomrape (Orobanche Ramosa) etc.

Gilberto Torrecilla Guerra and Eumelio Espino Marrero wrote a book in 1999 called:

“El Tabaco Cubano – Recursos Fitogeneticos” “Cuban Tobacco, phyto-genetic resources.”

Gilberto Torrecilla is or was an agricultural scientist at one of the “Estación Experimental del Tabaco” in Cuba. I’m not sure which one.

I see Eumelio Espino is the interviewee in this article mentioned above. https://www.cigaraficionado.com/article/a-passion-for-seeds-18248

(as an aside, the correct English term for "necrosis ambiental", mentioned in the article, is "Weather Fleck", it doesn't show up in Translator apps  . It is thought to be caused by excess ozone in the atmosphere, and blamed (by Cuban tobacco farmers) on heavy industry in Texas. Personally and anecdotally, I think Weather Fleck is responsible for those white dots that appear in the wrapper ash of some cigars (I'm 100% sure it is not magnesium as is sometimes believed), the pattern matches slightly damaged stomata in the leaf.) 

 It’s a very interesting book, I found my copy at a bookseller in Plaza de Armas years ago. Worth picking up if you ever happen to see it.

 Anyway, here are some excerpts.

 Criollo 

“In 1937, the first Experimental Tobacco Station was founded in San Juan y Martinez, Pinar del Rio Province.

One of the jobs immediately begun at this station was the selection from within existing assorted (tobacco) varieties, a type of black tobacco which would provide the distinctive characteristics of the famous and highly valued Cuban tobacco.

After three years of hard work, a commercial variety they called “Criollo” emerged in 1940, which carried all of the attributes required for the making of the “Habano”, a product unique in the world for it’s undisputed and unmatched sensory quality”. 

(Not my words, the words of Gilberto Torrecilla!) 

“The Criollo variety is characterised by a potential average yield of 1,900 kg per hectare, good performance of the axillary buds and a medium height with flowers of 1.75 metres.

It has an average of 14 useful leaves per plant with an average distance between them of 7 cm.

Aa leaf size greater than about 27cm X 45 cm. It is resistant to Black Shank and highly susceptible to Blue Mold and Tobacco Mosaic Virus. It is currently (1999) used as a commercial variety in Pinar del Rio. “

I know 1,900 kg per hectare is low by today’s standards in Cuba.

 Corojo

 “In the early 40s, Daniel Rodriguez, one of the main producers in Pinar del Rio, hired a Dutch horticulturalist named Nienhuys, who he entrusts with the task of obtaining a new variety which preserves the quality of Cuban tobacco but would be good for producing wrapper tobacco.

Nienhuys starts a program of improvement by hybridisation between Criollo and a Sumatran variety. After several years he achieves the current commercial variety “Corojo”, named in honour of the farm where it was created. 

The Corojo variety is characterised by the excellent wrapper leaf it produces and has come to represent the hallmark of Cuban rolled tobacco, known worldwide as “the Habano”.

The variety has potential of around 2,000 kg per hectare, with an average yield of 20% superior wrapper leaf. It has 16 to 18 useful leaves per plant with an average distance between the leaves of 10 cm.

Average height with flowers of the plant is 2.07 metres. The dimensions of the central leaves are 28 cm – 30 cm wide and 48cm to 50 cm long. They have an abundance of axillary buds. It is only moderately resistant to Black Shank, is highly susceptible to Blue Mold and Tobacco Mosaic virus.

“ 

If I have time tomorrow, I’ll add some more. There’s some info on the “legendary” Pelo de Oro tobacco too. Also a table at the back of the book of dozens of varieties produced in Cuba over the years.

 

 

 

 

[NSXCIGAR]

9 hours ago, Ryan said:

But no mention at all of Tobacco Mosaic Virus or Weather Fleck?

And don't forget Broomrape. Nothing good can have a name like Broomrape. 

[MrBirdman]

Interesting article from the last century-

https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdf/10.1086/330738
 

[teamrandr]

Great info on Connecticut broadleaf.   Also Tony's site is a wealth of information.

https://cigarhistory.info/Cigar_History/Start_of_shadeleaf_in_CT.html

Edited June 23, 2021 by teamrandr