irrigation when suckers are no longer growing

[Chilik]

Hey guys,


I was wondering whether I should stop irrigating my Golden Virginia plants once the suckers are no longer visible. My plan is to leave the leaves on the plant as long as possible, allowing them to yellow naturally for maximum nicotine content.


If I don’t see any more suckers, does that mean the plant’s cycle is nearly finished? At that point, would additional watering provide no real benefit, and is it better to let the leaves start drying out on the plant?


State of the leaf

 

[Knucklehead]

What are your curing conditions now and what do you project them to be if you wait? They could be harvested now, curing weather permitted, which would reduce the possibility of a natural disaster like bad wind or hail. Also, depending upon your season, you could allow a bottom sucker to grow from the harvested stalk and have a sucker crop, time and weather permitting. The leaf from a sucker crop is not usually as good as first leaf, but it's better than paying commercial prices.

 

[Chilik]

No worries about the weather — it’s looking pretty good for the next month, with no extreme cold, rain, or anything like that (I’m in the Middle East).


I haven’t seen any more suckers, and it’s been a week since I last removed them, so I assume those bottom suckers won’t grow back anymore?

I’m growing this tobacco for RYO cigarettes, if that makes any difference.
If the weather allows, would you recommend leaving the leaves intact as much as possible?

what about the irrigation in this stage?

thank you for your help, im struggling to find information online, hopefully experience will teach me.

 

[Knucklehead]

If you leave 4-6" of stalk they will form a sucker above the roots that can grow another plants. Watering is fine, but stop fertilizing or you can kick them back into the growth stage and set the ripening backwards. You can certainly let the leaves become as ripe as you want to for a stronger flavor and ease of curing. I've allowed the leaves to get ripe-ripe before harvest, I've harvested at about the stage you are now, and I've gotten impatient and harvested a liitle early. Harvesting green made curing really hard and the flavor was very mild. Harvesting at the stage you are now was mid-strength and pretty easy flavor, harvesting ripe-ripe was stronger and practically cured itself because the curing was alreday well far along while still on the plant. Strength wise, I could tell a little difference but it wasn't night and day it was just noticeable and that could have been the different seasons or fertilizer I used that year. The leaf was all good. I wasn't disappointed in any of it in terms of flavor. If you live in a dry area, the more ripe the leaf, the easier the cure will go. Personally, for flue cure varieties for cigarettes, I prefer harvesting at ripe-ripe stage for that extra flavor and curing is so easy.

 

[Chilik]

Do you know the mechanics behind it? I mean, the leaf will be stronger when left to reach the ripe-ripe state because of what? More nicotine delivered from the Roots?
Break down of sugars?
Something else?

Thank you very much for your help and guidance