xt7r222r6m1t https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7r222r6m1t/data/mets.xml   Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station. 1945 journals kaes_circulars_004_412_02 English Lexington : The Service, 1913-1958. Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station Circular (Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station) n. 412 text Circular (Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station) n. 412 1945 2014 true xt7r222r6m1t section xt7r222r6m1t I L ii
  BU RLEY IOBACCO i  
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  PROJ ECI I A  
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Wd ii in Circular M2 I
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gf UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY  
College of Agriculture and Home Economics
Agricultural Extension Division  
Q U Thomas P. Cooper, Dean cmd Director
Agrlciufgii .
:1; Diets Di · _
1¤u»1·“ U  i

 4 _  l4r Requirements
l. Boys and girls lO to l8 years old (inclusive) may take this
project.
2. Enroll not later than March l5. For
3. Each member must grow at least M4 acre of tobacco, fol- Gm
lowing the advice of his county agent and project leader. '
4. Each member must keep a record on the forms in this cir-
cular, of all work done on the project. The record must be up- IO
proved and signed by the county agent. p
5. The county agent or two disinterested persons must mea- gej,
sure the ground and certify the yield. Su,.
6. Each member should make an exhibit of tobacco at his len
county show or one of the district shows. Tl l
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7. Each member should receive the net return from his project Or,
8. To get the most development out of 4-H club work, a mem- · l°'
ber should attend all meetings of his club and take part in llS Gm
activities. Ol
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Burley Tobacco Project for 4-H Clubs    
B this By E. ]. Kmuzv g ·  
. DIRECTIONS given here are for growing M4 acre of tobacco.   l _
For raising more than M4 acre, a larger plant bed and more seed Q ` lg _
L {OL ond fertilizer will of course be needed. l i    
Raising the Plants ’ t .
IS CH- Probably most club members can get plants from their home  
E up- plant beds. lf you must raise the plants, do as follows_: . , l l
s Prepare the plant bed as early as the ground can be worked.
mw Select a very productive plot of land which gets the early morning ,
sun, and is as little shaded during the day as possible. An old t
Ot his fence row or old sod ground is good. For M4 acre of tobacco, plow l
or spade an area 9 by l2 feet and make a good seed-bed. Pile a
layer of dry brush on the bed and on this place poles, old boards, _
·t’0l€°l· or other wood to burn the bed. Use enough wood to give a hot fire _
mem . for a half hour at least. Set fire to the brush in several places   ,
in its cmd let it burn down. After the bed has cooled, sprinkle 3 pounds l ' j
of mixed fertilizer on it and rake in very lightly. Mix one-third l
 y level teaspoonful of tobacco seed very thoroughly with a quart of .
slightly moist sand or soil and sow on the bed, going over it several
times in order to get the seed even. Tramp the bed carefully; then Y
box it in with 6—inch boards and cover it with tobacco cotton. .
Water when the soil becomes dry, using about a barrel of water
once o week. lf cutworms or other insects give trouble, dust the
bed with lead arsenate. Half a pound of nitrate of soda dissolved
in 5 gallons of water should be sprinkled over the bed if at any
time the plants fail to make a good growth. Follow immediately }
- with 5 gallons of clear water to keep the solution from burning l
the plants. l
When the first true leaf appears, treat the bed, through the  
cotton, with a lime—b|uestone mixture prepared as follows: Dis-  
» solve 3 ounces of powdered bluestone in 2 gallons of water. In é
i another container, mix 4 ounces of fresh builder's lime in l gal- l
lon of water. Mix the two lots thoroughly and apply through the  
cotton with a sprinkling can. Repeat 8 to l0 days later. This l
controls wildfire and rust. ·
a

 4 Exrrmsrou Cmcucn No. 412
Selecting and Preparing the Land ‘
Choose fertile, well-drained land. Break the land as early cs
possible, especially if in sod. Fall plowing is good for heavy the
grass sods. Disk at intervals to keep down weeds and put the IOC
land in good shape for transplanting. T to
he<
Fertilizers is l
Fertilizer seldom fails to give an increase in yield of tobacco blt
and often improves the quality of the leaf. Use a fertilizer con-
taining 4 to 6 percent of nitrogen, 8 to l2 percent of phosphoric
acidand 6 to 8 percent of potash, A very popular analysis in the
burley district is 6-8-6. Use 200 to 250 pounds of such fertilizer °pl
for % acre. When you cannot get a fertilizer with so high a per- °n'
centage of nitrogen, use 250 pounds of the best fertilizer you can On
get and, after the tobacco has started to grow, apply 25 pounds °l
of nitrate of soda or sulfate of ammonia around the plants, but
do not get any on the plants. lf you use ammonium nitrate, apply
l5 pounds. tee
· plc
- » Applying the Fertilizer gn
For M4 acre it is usually most convenient to apply the fertilizer url
by hand. Mark out the rows 3% feet apart. Make furrows 3 Ol
4 inches deep on both sides of the row and as close as possible.
In each furrow sow 4 pounds of fertilizer per l0O feet of row. cu
Cover with a rake or hoe or in any convenient way. The plants -
should be set in the marker row. This puts the roots of the newlY PU
set plants close to the fertilizer but not in contact with it, which 0¤
is best for moderate amounts of fertilizer. lm
mc
Setting the Plants F;
Setting the plants by machine is best, but it is often more ccrt thi
venient for club members to set by hand. Space plants l6 inches crt
apart on very productive soil and l8 to 20 inches on soil of medium i tin
productivity and on hill land. Make the rows 42 inches ¤P¤l*· Pri
The secret of getting a good stand is to press the earth firmlY
around the plants when setting. Early transplanting-from N\¤Y Ie
l0 to June l--usually gives the best quality of tobacco. bg
. 4* S

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Bunuzv Tomxcco Pizojizcr 5 l V
Cultivation l l .
lly GS As soon as the plants start to grow, or before if rain crusts l .  
wavy the ground, give the tobacco a shallow cultivation. lt is well to ; ·  
lt the y loosen the soil around the plants with a hoe, but take care not i .
to loosen the plants. Further hoeing is unnecessary except after   ‘ g
heavy rain or as needed to keep down weeds. Shallow cultivation l A l  
is best. Quit cultivating when the cultivator begins to break and ll
bam bruise the leaves. T y
l .
  Combating Worms l l
glnczhe Be constantly on the watch for tobacco worms. At their first A T
ytmw appearance, dust the plants with a mixture of l part paris green l
O pep and 6 parts of lime at the rate of 7 to 8 pounds an acre, depending
yu can an the size of the plants. Be very careful to get an even covering
·ounds of the plants.
"$» bul Topping and Suckering y
Gpply Allow burley tobacco to bloom out fully before topping. Six- _
teen to 24 leaves should be left, depending on the vigor of the   .
plant. The aim is to keep as many leaves as will mature well and l l A
QFOW to a good size. After topping, pull the suckers when they l
mule, ‘ are 3 or 4 inches long. T
  I Harvesting Q
)f mw. Cutting .
plants . Cut burley when the middle leaves show a distinct yellow tinge.
, newly Put The tobacco directly on the sticks as fast as cut, 5 or 6 pl¤¤TS
which an each stick, with the butts toward the sun. Haul the tobacco to
the barn as soon as it is wilted, and hang the sticks about 8 to 9
h inches apart. Shake out the tobacco well before hanging, so the g
leaves will not stick together. This is very important. In very hot, l
d"Y Weather, cut the tobacco in the late afternoon and haul it to y
ll'? wml llle bam the next fgrenggry A lqrge percentage of l'l`l9 l3Ul'l€Y y
llwhes Crop l$ ¤0W harvested by speqring_ Spearing is faster than SDllT- l
megs: ‘ ting and Perhaps just as satisfactory except for late-cut crops.  
; a · · .  
l   Prlmlng  
m May I EXCQDT when moisture conditions are very favorable the lower y
eaves of burley plants yellow and are likely to dry up and waste
before the rest of the plant is ripe enough to cut. These lower

 6 Exmmsiom Cuzcux..¤un~N0. 412
leaves can be picked off and saved, thereby adding to the returns for
from the crop. This picking of the lower leaves is called priming, Ex;
lt is recommended that each Club member prime his quarter acre
of tobacco, particularly in dry seasons when there is danger that in‘
several of the lower leaves would be lost. For instructions on in
i priming, see your County Agent. all
bei
- Curing S¤l
Usually the tobacco will be cured with the other tobacco on tal
the farm, and the club member will have little opportunity of te
supervising the curing. However, it is urged that the club mem-
ber go to the barn each day during the curing period and note the
changes in the leaf that take place from day to day.
Good results in curing depend much upon the construction ol sol
the barn. Thorough and controlled ventilation is necessary. Barns r for
should have a large amount of side ventilation. They should be Th
stripped and all ventilators should be capable of being tightly va
closed to keep out wind, rain, and snow and make it easier to for
° regulate the heat when firing is necessary. it·
After housing tobacco, all ventilators should be kept wide open su
for several days to permit the escape of the tremendous amount 4 tht
of water given off by the plants, but if nights are cool, especially to
cool and windy, it is best to close the side ventilators. lf weather
is decidedly cold and windy when tobacco is housed, it is best to ex
shut nearly all side ventilators and heat the barn moderately with be
coke stoves. Do not keep very hot fires. A temperature of 70°f V A
is enough. The firing may be discontinued and the side ventilators an
opened again as soon as the weather becomes warm. After the ur
leaf begins to yellow close some of the side ventilators during the cli
day if the weather is very hot and dry. lf hot and damp, however, _
keep all open. When weather is such that, in spite of perfect ven- gr
tilotion, the leaf stays in high order for 36 hours, especially if the t be
temperature is high, houseburn is likely to develop. Under these lei
conditions the only remedy is to dry out the leaf by the use of heel. y is
When firing tobacco, in a stripped barn, some side ventilation is st
necessary to permit escape of moisture, Openings of 2 or 3 l¤€l"€S le
usually give enough ventilation. ln unstripped barns the cr¤¢lf$ Gl
between boards provide adequate ventilation as a rule. Top Venl" Sl
lators should always be kept open when firing. Detailed directions qi
_ A

 . ( El
· ‘Buiu.2v Tonncoo Pnopzcr 7 l l
lturns for firing with coke stoves will be furnished by the Kentucky  
ming. Experiment Station, on request. ‘ - 3
- acre After yellowing is completed all ventilators may be kept open · , I  
I- that in fair weather until the leaf is completely dry. On windy days and   l (
as on in rainy weather they should be closed. When curing is finished, * T .
all ventilators should be kept closed. Tobacco keeps its finish l H
better when bulked than when left hanging up; hence as soon as = i
safe it is advisable to bulk down the entire crop. Care must be A (
taken to see that it is not in such high order, when bulked, that t .
;co on . . .
ity Of there is danger of damage in the bulk. » I V
EESL Stripping and Sorting -
The leaves on a stalk of cured tobacco differ greatly in size, T
ion of soundness, texture, body (thickness) and color. They can there- .
Barns · fore be separated into several classes based on these differences.
uld be This is known as sorting. Sorting is necessary for two reasons. The
tightly various classes of leaf are used for different purposes in the manu-
sier to facture of tobacco products. lf sorting were not done on the farm, _ V
itwould have to be done by the manufacturer. Because of a smaller i ; j
e open supply or greater demand, some grades command higher prices l ,
amount _ than others. lf tobacco were sold unsorted, it would be difficult
recially to determine a price fair to both the manufacturer and the grower. T
/€¤lll€l Proper sorting of tobacco is an art that can be learned only by ( ,
best to experience. Particularly with burley, much skill is necessary ·
ly with V because of the numerous grades into which the crop is divided. ‘
if 70°F A club member without experience should get help from an experi—
.tilat0rS enced man in stripping and sorting his crop. lf a club member is
‘ter the unable to get help from father or friends, the county agent or
ing the club leader will help.
0W€V°ll . Tl`¤€ more leaves allowed to mature on 0 tobacco plant, The I
act ven- greater the variation in leaf characteristics and the larger the num-
y if the T ber of grades that must be made. Burley often is topped at 20 A
ar these leaves, which means a rather large number of grades. Following
Ol l'l€Gl· y is U bfléf description of burley grades; (l) At the bottom of the F
ation is stalk are one or more small, thin, light-colored, often ragged ,
5 in€l”€$ l€¤V€$ lngs to i
matter June- Finish setting by June 20. Cultivate as soon as plants Q .
is put, are set. Keep accurate record of time. Reset missing i , -
hills. Keep down worms. F
e grade ,
'l is lol " l'~llY-—- Cultivate to keep down weeds. Watch for bud worms.
sample Top early plants high (l6-24 leaves) and leave 2 top F
·uld be suckers to grow. ,
August-— Complete topping. Control worms. Prepare barn for  
the Gl} crop. Let tobacco ripen as long as it is not wasting
V€$ °'° at the ground. Cut the plants and place on sticks.
» Svfied House when wilted. Visit other members.
mpmve S€DT€mber—-Attend to curing, Fire if necessary. Seed the tobacco
_ plot to a cover crop.
October- Strip when the thoroughly cured tobacco comes in
iblishéd case. Bulk the tobacco on sticks when stripped.
lho cur; y NOV€ml3€r——-Write a story of your project in the record b00l<. COM-
llgebpq; plete stripping. Keep the tobacco in bulk until mar-
¤ ES` V keted. r
l . . . l
1e S0 Tn D€C€mb€l’—— Sell the tobacco through your d|StrlC'f 4·l‘l tobacco l
thlshe Show. Arrange with other members for hauling to ‘
SMH m¤rl