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Tobacco: Plants
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Tobacco is a member of the nightshade family. There are more than 70 species of tobacco, of which 45 are native to the Americas. The two cultivated species, common tobacco and wild tobacco, are annuals—they live only one growing season. Common tobacco is 1 to 3 m (3 to 10 ft) tall and has a thick, woody stem with few side branches. One plant typically produces 10 to 20 broad leaves that branch alternately from the central stalk. The leaf size depends on the strain.
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Tobacco cultivation is an important industry, and the home production is carried out under government supervision. In 1905, 53,750 planters cultivated 39,439 acres, and the total crop amounted to 61,614,900 lb, of the approximate value of £2,000,000. The variety grown is usually of the Virginia type, and the leaf is coarse, dark and heavy, and suited to the manufacture of plug and snuff.
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Tobacco grows in tropical and temperate regions, and it can be grown as far north as Canada and Norway. It thrives best in areas with a frost-free growing season of 120 to 170 days, depending on the type of tobacco. Good-quality tobacco requires fertile, well-drained, moist soil and warm temperatures. Most types of tobacco are grown in full sun. Environmental factors influence the plant’s characteristics. Soil, for example, can affect leaf size, texture, and color.
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Tobacco seeds are scattered onto the surface of the soil, as their germination is activated by light. In colonial Virginia, seedbeds were fertilized with wood ash or animal manure (frequently powdered horse manure). Seedbeds were then covered with branches to protect the young plants from frost damage. These plants were left to grow until around April.
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Tobacco is normally grown as an annual and is potentially a woody, shrub like perennial. The tobacco plant has a very shallow root system which provides poor anchorage for the more extensive above ground development. The N. tabacum types are one of the smaller species of tobacco varieties. The leaves supply the most important economic value of the plant and are given the most attention by botanists. Although there is variation in leaf size and shape there is general uniformity of distribution, size and shape within cultivated types. Between types, size and shape may vary considerably but not in distribution.
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Tobacco, like other cultivated plants, is subject to attack by various pests and diseases, but fortunately these are less destructive than with many crops. On the other hand, comparatively trivial incidents do more harm to a relatively delicate plant like the tobacco than to more robust plants.
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