Charly's journey - 2017

[deluxestogie]

...it takes time to master it.

It's the time invested in learning a complex computer application that is often the greatest cost. When a software publisher "improves" their product, for more sales, they are also obsolescing my hard-won knowledge. They are stealing from me. Since the late 1960s, I have learned and mastered over a dozen programming languages (HP Assembler, 8080 Assembler, Cobol, C-BASIC, Northstar Basic, DOS Command, FORTRAN, Visual Basic, VB.Net, C++, Visual C++, C#, Java Script, CSS, HTML, XHTML, ASP, ASP.Net, DHTML, Transact SQL, etc.) Now, most of them are like antique chamber pots, displayed on a shelf.

Contrast that to the fact that we eagerly read 150 year old books on tobacco growing, often finding useful insight and helpful techniques. That must be one of the reasons that growing tobacco feels better than keeping up with the arbitrary changing of computer technologies.

Bob

 

[Charly]

I fully agree with you, I used (and still use) a lot of different languages too (remove some of your list and add a few others, I begun later than you), and each time they launch a new one it's THE ULTIMATE ONE and a few month/years later, it changes again...
So much time wasted learning new technologies which doesn't change anything in the end

When I see all this energy wasted reinventing the wheel... what a pity !

In this world of too fast changing things, it's good to take our time and enjoy the simplest things, like watching our tobacco plants growing, it's so relaxing and it binds us to the real life.
It's funny to see that we have more in common than "just" tobacco

 

[deluxestogie]

It's funny to see that we have more in common than "just" tobacco

It's proof that computer upgrades cause tobacco growing.

Bob

 

[Charly]

I love this kind of logical reasoning

 

[DistillingJim]

I started learning programming around the same time I developed an interest in growing (coming up to 12 months). The correlation is growing...

 

[Charly]

This information validate our algorithm : computing => tobacco growing !

Let's go back to tobacco
This morning, I topped 8 Xanthy plants, I would like to see the difference between topped/untopped orientals I am pretty sure some of you have already done this, but I have to see and taste it myself


flower buds removed from the 8 plants


topped plant

Talking about experimenting on oriental strains, I have another question : has anyone tried to air cure Xanthy ? (I plan on doing some sun curing, but I wonder if it might be interesting to air cure some leaves ?)

 

[deluxestogie]

I have air-cured Xanthi in the past. It cures to a light brown, and not as sour (acidic) as sun-cured Xanthi. It blended well for my pipe. Although I prefer sun-cured Basma type Orientals, I don't hesitate to air-cure them if the weather is uncooperative. I kiln the leaf regardless.

Bob

 

[Alpine]

In my experience, leaves from untopped plants are harder to cure properly, and tend to ripen ten (or more) days later. BUT... the traditional turkish way of growing wants no topping, a little pruning if any, and sun curing. Three things that I tried and didn't work... but the Alps aren't in turkey lol
let us know how your leaves turn out

pier

 

[Charly]

I have air-cured Xanthi in the past. It cures to a light brown, and not as sour (acidic) as sun-cured Xanthi. It blended well for my pipe. Although I prefer sun-cured Basma type Orientals, I don't hesitate to air-cure them if the weather is uncooperative. I kiln the leaf regardless.

I hope I will be able to make correct sun curing I would really like to get sugar rich leaves.
Did you notice some important changes in sun cured leaves after kilning ?

In my experience, leaves from untopped plants are harder to cure properly, and tend to ripen ten (or more) days later. BUT... the traditional turkish way of growing wants no topping, a little pruning if any, and sun curing. Three things that I tried and didn't work... but the Alps aren't in turkey lol
let us know how your leaves turn out

Sun curing seems to be tricky...
Last year I tried to sun cure some virginia leaves (cherry red), but I think it ended more like air curing than real sun curing (we had not a lot of sun), the leaves did not stay yellow/orange/red... they turned brown just like the leaves I air cured So I don't know what I will get
I will report the evolution

 

[Charly]

Discoloration ?

This morning, I noticed some kind of discoloration on many leaves of Havana 322 plants (and no other strain), these discolorations are on the middle / upper leaves.
Has anyone ever seen the same thing? the strange thing is that it seemed to appear simultaneously on about each plant of Havana 322...
Could it be a virus/disease ? I was not able to find the same discoloration on the diagnostic site I use regularly (http://ephytia.inra.fr/en/C/10750/Tobacco-Identify-diseases)
Maybe I'll have to wait to see how it will evolve...

Maybe it's due to the weather ? Hot sun has come back after a few days of cloudy, rainy and cold days.

Here are some pictures :

 

[deluxestogie]

Discoloration ?
View attachment 21185

The lighter areas do not correspond to the vascular structure of the plant, with linear margins of the affected area crossing the veins. I don't know what it is, but my general impression is that it is a response to something that has touched the surface of the leaf: pooling water, hand oils, insect repellent from your skin. [An analogous pattern would be an itchy rash on your belly, in the shape and location of your belt buckle. Contact dermatitis.]

Another possibility is a common, random genetic mutation in a portion of the leaf lamina that may cause a decrease of chlorophyll in one cell, and subsequently in all its daughter cells. This might account for the pattern of lighter colored cells abruptly ending half-way between two secondary veins.

We will both wait to see what evolves.

Bob

 

[Charly]

I too thought that it could be a genetic mutation, but I skipped this idea because nearly every plant of Havana 322 seem to show this kind of discoloration... (the pages I read on genetic mutation talk often of one single plant in a field showing strange behaviors).
I don't know, it could be the specific answer from Havana 322 to the potatoe virus ?

We'll wait and see
Thanks for your answer.

 

[greenmonster714]

I use the app I posted on a thread earlier this year. Maybe it will help. It has good pictures to help diagnose the problem.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.inra.TabacEnDiagno&hl=en

 

[Charly]

Thanks GreenMonster, the Android app was developped by the same team that is behind the site I use
I find the site to be is easier to use.
But I wasn't able to identify for sure what is going on with my leaves

 

[greenmonster714]

Maybe they are just sunburnt.

 

[Gavroche]

[QUOTE = Charly; 137337] Décoloration?

Ce matin, j'ai remarqué une sorte de décoloration sur de nombreuses feuilles de La Havane 322 plantes (et pas d'autre souche), ces décolorations sont sur les feuilles moyennes / supérieures.
Quelqu'un at-il jamais vu la même chose? Il est étrange qu'il semble apparaitre simultanément sur chaque plante de La Havane 322 ...
Est-ce que cela pourrait être un virus / une maladie? Je n'ai pas pu trouver la même décoloration sur le site de diagnostic que j'utilise régulièrement ( http://ephytia.inra.fr/fr/C/10750/Tobacco-Identify-diseases )
Peut-être que je vais devoir attendre pour voir comment Va évoluer ...

Peut-être que c'est dû à la météo? Le soleil chaud est revenu après quelques jours de jours nuageux, pluvieux et froid.

Voici quelques images:

View attachment 21185 View attachment 21186 View attachment 21187[/ QUOTE]

Almost all my origins(stumps) have the same thing I am not worried. We were 20 degrees of temperature drop, certainly a defense reaction of the plant.
Presque toutes mes souches ont la même chose... je ne suis pas inquiet.On a eu 20 degré de chute de temperature, certainement une réaction de défense de la plante.

 

[Charly]

Some (bad) news from my garden...

I have been quite busy in my garden the last weeks, the bad news is that a lot of my plants are infected with PVY
I used a lot of soapy water to fight the aphids (spraying every single leaf, on both sides), but the virus continued to spread... (next time I will not bother with soapy water anymore)
I removed infected plants as they were showing, but it was not efficient either. I think that it's already too late when the symptoms are visible, or I had really bad luck with aphyds coming for out of my garden, or maybe there is some source of PVY in (or near) my garden ? I don't know... So I stopped removing the infected plants.

Some strains were infected reaaaaally quickly : the Little Dutch and the Harrow Velvet for example, whereas a few strains seem to be more resistant (Xanhy, Bolivian Criollo Black, Adonis, Symbol 4, Nostrano del Brenta).

The main problem with this virus is that the leaves becomes ugly and die before maturing... so it's hard to have healthy mature leaves. It affects the top leaves first than go down the plant.
I will wait for the end of the season to see which strains are the most resistant to this disease.

Here are some pictures of my plants, some healthy and other infected.


A global view of the one of my cigar spots : nearly every plant is infected : Little Dutch (not visible), Havana 142, Corojo 99, Havana 322, Criollo, Coroja


Some Havana 322 (the right one has been infected earlier than the left one)


The 4 plants on the front are Corojo 99. From the left : the first and the third seems not infected (only 2 healthy plants on 14 ...), whereas the second and the last have PVY (you can see the leaves on the top, already drying while not mature).
The leaves from the two infected plants will soon be harvested


Some healthy plants : Xanthy, Alma Ata 315 and Adonis
I have already harvested the mud lugs.


A quick comparison of some strains : BMC#24, Amersfoort, Besuki, Kasturi Angsa.

 

[DistillingJim]

Sorry to hear, friend. Although, this late in the season, is some of it is salvageable?

 

[deluxestogie]

You definitely have a challenge.

I have read that even systemic insecticides, like imidacloprid, can not prevent transmission of PVY, since aphids can infect a new plant faster than the insecticide can kill the aphid.

Bob

 

[Youn]

So sorry! Especially for your cigar varieties
Hope you can save the others.