Tobacco cultivation in Ukraine - 2025: @Sergey Ukraine

[Sergey Ukraine]

This season was very difficult. There were problems with authorization here on the forum, so I couldn't publish the report on time. I'll write little by little as I have free time.

 

[Sergey Ukraine]

Tobacco varieties I planted this season:
Bolivian Criollo Black
Jubek 50
Deerhorn
Maryland Mammoth
Krasnodar Burley
Hungarian 22
Monte Calme Yellow
Tennessee, Tennessee, TN-49
1868 Trapezium
Triumph
Gold Leaf 939 Proof
Roth Front Corso
Burley Bursanica
Burley Panama
Fogeu
Virginia Holta
Tennessee Redleaf

All varieties except Tennessee Redleaf grew well and were planted in the plot. A total of 300 bushes were planted.

 

[Sergey Ukraine]

The first setback was that all the Tennessee Redleaf seedlings, which were supposed to make up the bulk of the planting, died. But that wasn't the end of the troubles... Two weeks before planting began, I broke my right hand, so I had to plant with one hand, with no one to help me.
Everything seemed to be going well, but after a while I began to notice that some varieties were lagging behind in growth. Fertilizing with mineral fertilizers did not improve the situation, and they remained stunted until the end of the season. I suppose the reason was the availability of nutrients in the soil at the very beginning, because all these plants had a very weak root system, no more than 10-15 cm, while normal plants had roots up to 50 cm. The soil on the site was loose everywhere. Varieties that grew poorly - Stag Horn, Tennessee TN-49, Gold Leaf 939, Burley Panama, Burley Bursanica, and Bolivian Criollo Black.
Spring was cold, and summer was hot with strong dry winds. Throughout the entire season (four months), there were only three light rains, two of which occurred at the end of leaf collection.
Some varieties are still growing on the plot, mainly Burley, and I am waiting for the seeds to ripen. The weather is already cool, up to +20 degrees Celsius during the day and +10 degrees Celsius at night. Many leaves are still drying under the canopy in the shade, and some are even still green.
Overall, I think the season went well, despite the difficulties. The harvest is good, and some varieties exceeded my expectations.

 

[deluxestogie]

Are you able to measure the soil pH?

Bob

 

[Sergey Ukraine]

Are you able to measure the soil pH?

Bob

Watch the video to see the situation on the site. There is no device to measure pH.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KT-B1h-0Gts&t=673s

 

[GIL]

Almost the same for me, except that my cat is yellow.

 

[Knucklehead]

The downward cupping could mean a calcium deficiency.

Calcium Deficiency

Over the past week or so we’ve received a number of phone calls, emails, and text messages asking about irregular/abnormal leaf growth and bud development. It’s safe to say that nearly all of these conversations have turned out to be Calcium (Ca) deficiency. Calcium deficiency is characterized...

tobacco.ces.ncsu.edu

 

[Sergey Ukraine]

The downward cupping could mean a calcium deficiency.

Calcium Deficiency

Over the past week or so we’ve received a number of phone calls, emails, and text messages asking about irregular/abnormal leaf growth and bud development. It’s safe to say that nearly all of these conversations have turned out to be Calcium (Ca) deficiency. Calcium deficiency is characterized...

tobacco.ces.ncsu.edu

On the part of the plot that was free of tobacco bushes, I applied fertilizers containing micronutrients and P, K, Ca, S.
In the spring, before planting, I will add nitrogen fertilizer. Last year, I did not fertilize the plot at all, and before cultivation, this tobacco plot was not fertilized either. Perhaps there really is a deficiency of certain elements. I fertilized the plants themselves with complex fertilizers containing a set of micronutrients, using foliar application.

 

[Sergey Ukraine]

A few photos of the site this morning...

Bolivian Criollo Black


Burley Panama


Burley Bursanica


Stag Horn


Tennessee TN-49


Krasnodar Burley


Group photo

 

[Sergey Ukraine]

Almost the entire harvest of this season

 

[Knucklehead]

The leaves are curing great. It would be helful if you could get a soil test somehow so you know your starting point in terms of ph and nutrients.

 

[Sergey Ukraine]

The leaves are curing great. It would be helful if you could get a soil test somehow so you know your starting point in terms of ph and nutrients.

Thank you. It is financially difficult for me to conduct a full chemical analysis of the soil. I will look into options for doing it myself, at least to measure the pH.

 

[Sergey Ukraine]

Will this be sufficient for accurate measurement?

 

[deluxestogie]

I assume the unmarked image is of hydrion paper.

"Simply press a piece of the paper tape against moist soil for 30 seconds, then compare the color of the tape with the color chart to get an accurate pH measurement to determine how acid or alkaline your soil is."

Soil pH Test Strips for Gardeners

A fast, easy, economical to test soil for acidity-alkalinity. Simply press a piece of the paper tape against moist soil for 30 seconds, then compare the color of the tape with the color chart to get an accurate pH measurement to determine how acid

www.gardentalk.com

The difficulty with using paper colorimetry for measuring soil pH:

• pH itself is a measure of concentration, so moisture content of the soil affects the result. Fortunately, the pH scale is logarithmic, so dilution is not a huge issue.
• If the soil itself imparts color to the paper strip, then you may mis-read the value.

If your soil pH is wildly outside the ideal range, then the hydrion paper should tell you that. The color differences between pH of 5.0, 6.0 and 7.0 seem subtle. But if it looks like it is closest to 6.0, then the pH is probably reasonable.

Bob

 

[The Haroo ln]

Don't want to be advertising on here but, I bought this from temu for around £6 and it's perfect it gives you a temp, PH and soil humidity reading. It was quite reliable for me during my growing season this year!

 

[Sergey Ukraine]

I assume the unmarked image is of hydrion paper.

"Simply press a piece of the paper tape against moist soil for 30 seconds, then compare the color of the tape with the color chart to get an accurate pH measurement to determine how acid or alkaline your soil is."

Soil pH Test Strips for Gardeners

A fast, easy, economical to test soil for acidity-alkalinity. Simply press a piece of the paper tape against moist soil for 30 seconds, then compare the color of the tape with the color chart to get an accurate pH measurement to determine how acid

www.gardentalk.com

The difficulty with using paper colorimetry for measuring soil pH:

• pH itself is a measure of concentration, so moisture content of the soil affects the result. Fortunately, the pH scale is logarithmic, so dilution is not a huge issue.
• If the soil itself imparts color to the paper strip, then you may mis-read the value.

If your soil pH is wildly outside the ideal range, then the hydrion paper should tell you that. The color differences between pH of 5.0, 6.0 and 7.0 seem subtle. But if it looks like it is closest to 6.0, then the pH is probably reasonable.

Bob

There are more accurate ones.

https://aquameter.com.ua/ph-metry/l...oloski-kachestvennie-df001-s-shagom-ph05.html

 

[Sergey Ukraine]

Don't want to be advertising on here but, I bought this from temu for around £6 and it's perfect it gives you a temp, PH and soil humidity reading. It was quite reliable for me during my growing season this year!

I looked at reviews specifically for this model, and people complain about inaccuracy.

 

[Sergey Ukraine]

A few days ago, I went out into the yard in the morning to drink tea and smoke a cigarette (Virginia 355 + Kentucky Nidziki + Japan 8). I noticed that one strand with a Virginia Golta leaf had turned a beautiful bright yellow color. And I thought, why not try heat drying this leaf? These were the top leaves. I have a smoking cabinet in which you can precisely regulate the temperature using a PID controller.
I started at a temperature of 40°C, gradually raising it to 57°C. When the sheet plate dried, I raised the temperature to 65°C to dry the central vein. The whole process took about 30 hours. From start to finish, I had the ventilation on low to remove moisture from the chamber. I was pleased with the result; I never imagined that the taste would improve so much. It's a shame I tried it so late; these were the last Virginia leaves.

 

[StoneCarver]

I also use the hydrion pH papers that deluxestogie indicated. I find them to be reasonably accurate and affordable (keep them dry whilst in storage). I prefer the pH 3-8 range rather than the 0-14 papers.
I found the pH of my tap water and spring water to be 4.5 which is too acidic. I use Ph Up to bring the pH to about 6.0.
Sometimes, all the nutrients the plants need is in the soil but, if the pH is out of range, the plants cannot absorb the nutrients.

 

[Sergey Ukraine]

I also use the hydrion pH papers that deluxestogie indicated. I find them to be reasonably accurate and affordable (keep them dry whilst in storage). I prefer the pH 3-8 range rather than the 0-14 papers.
I found the pH of my tap water and spring water to be 4.5 which is too acidic. I use Ph Up to bring the pH to about 6.0.
Sometimes, all the nutrients the plants need is in the soil but, if the pH is out of range, the plants cannot absorb the nutrients.

Thank you! I tried to find litmus paper in stores in my city today, but no one sells it. You can order it from an online store, but shipping costs three times more than the paper itself. What a nightmare! I'll keep looking.