"Alligatoring"?

[NewTobaccoGrower]

Hello, does anyone have any images of the oft-mentioned "alligatoring" of leaves, indicating their being ready for harvest? I'm not sure what that means exactly.

Here is one of my Virginia Bright Leaf plants-- is this alligatoring? The edges are indeed curled. Thanks!

 

[deluxestogie]

is this alligatoring?

Yup! They could be primed now. I usually wait for a bit of yellowing at the leaf tip.

Bob

 

[NewTobaccoGrower]

Yup! They could be primed now. I usually wait for a bit of yellowing at the leaf tip.

Bob

Great, thanks! Unfortunately the worms are starting to hit them so I'm tempted to harvest them before they get munched away.
The Yellow Twist Bud are just as old but they don't seem to be alligatoring, they're just slowly turning completely yellow from the bottom leaves up. It seems like they're ready to start being harvested too.

 

[Alpine]

“Alligatoring” (isn’t this a funny word?) is ONE of the many possible signs of leaf maturity (maturity, not ripeness!). Each strain has its own characteristics: some turn yellow, some turn yellow but just at the tip of the leaf, some has a marked curling (or cupping) at the edges, some shows ‘gatoring… and so on. Growing the same few strains each year (of course, once you’ve found your favorites between the nearly 3.000 recognized strains) makes harvesting and curing a lot more easier. But maybe less intriguing…

pier