Ethylene formation in tobacco leaf stimulated by sodium bicarbonate treatment.

[ShiniKoroshi]

Saw this while doing mad science to tobacco and thought it was worth sharing.
Ethylene formation in tobacco leaf stimulated by sodium bicarbonate treatment

 

[PressuredLeaf]

Saw this while doing mad science to tobacco and thought it was worth sharing.
Ethylene formation in tobacco leaf stimulated by sodium bicarbonate treatment

Very interesting, thanks for sharing. I’ve seen commercial ethylene generators sold help ripen VA for flue curing. Out of curiosity, I built a small ethylene generator that passes ethanol over hot activated alumina beads to produce ethylene and water (dangerous if you don’t know what your doing!). I tried accelerated curing some ripe and mature VA with the produced ethylene and it didn’t make a noticeable difference for me. My guess is it makes a bigger difference if you have a lot whole barn full of tobacco that needs to get cured asap.

 

[ShiniKoroshi]

Very interesting, thanks for sharing. I’ve seen commercial ethylene generators sold help ripen VA for flue curing. Out of curiosity, I built a small ethylene generator that passes ethanol over hot activated alumina beads to produce ethylene and water (dangerous if you don’t know what your doing!). I tried accelerated curing some ripe and mature VA with the produced ethylene and it didn’t make a noticeable difference for me. My guess is it makes a bigger difference if you have a lot whole barn full of tobacco that needs to get cured asap.

Can't remember why I posted this other than a convo starter (much needed in this place).

I have come to notice there are lots of gimmicks mentioned for getting that perfect leaf while kilning rarely is. This is where its at I believe, when/how tobacco magic occurs.

 

[PressuredLeaf]

Can't remember why I posted this other than a convo starter (much needed in this place).

I have come to notice there are lots of gimmicks mentioned for getting that perfect leaf while kilning rarely is. This is where its at I believe, when/how tobacco magic occurs.

View attachment 55078

I’m glad you posted this, it’s very interesting from a scientific perspective. Even more interesting than science, to me, is the intersection of science and practicality. This is a good example of that: ethylene might be practical on large scale where decreasing leaf curing by a few hours means $, but on a home scale it’s not really relevant.

I also appreciate you provoking discussion. There are lots of really interesting things people are doing on this forum, and sharing info can stimulate insightful discussions.

 

[ShiniKoroshi]

I’m glad you posted this, it’s very interesting from a scientific perspective. Even more interesting than science, to me, is the intersection of science and practicality. This is a good example of that: ethylene might be practical on large scale where decreasing leaf curing by a few hours means $, but on a home scale it’s not really relevant.

I also appreciate you provoking discussion. There are lots of really interesting things people are doing on this forum, and sharing info can stimulate insightful discussions.

Thank you for your kind words.

Agree, some science and technology are impractical for the home grower, especially when it involves dangerous materials, either because of cost or complexity. But taken another way is the impractical use of very practical science. Tobacco seems to have a chain of necessary changes that must occur in order for the result to be satisfactory. Processing of un-aged tobacco will result in failure until sufficient time has passed or the aging forced.

Though Ive read 3/4 of this forum I put the flue-cure and kiln topics off as I didn't think I would need those yet. Sometimes Im a little S L O W.