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Edgar Vhera Agriculture Specialist Writer
AMID the excitement generated by shisha tobacco’s grand entrance into the 2023 tobacco marketing season, the sole licenced contractor for the crop, Cavendish Lloyd, has disclosed that it will not need topping, double populations and high fertiliser applications normally associated with the flue-cured tobacco varieties.
Speaking on the Tobacco Farmer Talk (TFT) WhatsApp group platform this week, Cavendish Lloyd Zimbabwe agronomist, Mr Josh Makwenje advised aspiring shisha farmers that shisha was a flue-cured tobacco produced under agronomic practices designed to influence nicotine and sugar levels.
“Cavendish is the only company licenced by the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) to grow shisha, as well as contract farmers to produce it
“Shisha is also a flue-cured tobacco but does not belong to the Kutsaga basket of seeds. It is imported and has its own characteristics,” said Mr Makwenje.
He disclosed that its major difference with the normally grown flue-cured, oriental and burley tobacco varieties was a very low nicotine content and high sugars levels.
The nicotine is supposed to be below one percent and the sugars above 25 percent unlike with the flue-cured tobacco genres that have nicotine levels of between three and three and half plus six sugar levels.
“Unlike when growing normal tobacco, we put 15 000 plants per hectare but with shisha we double this to promote competition for nutrients to reduce nicotine levels.
“The other difference is in fertiliser applications with farmers using up to 100 units for other tobacco varieties while 37, 5 units are recommended for shisha. All this it aimed at reducing nicotine levels in the leaf,” added Mr Makwenje.
He said fertiliser was applied at planting and top-dressed three weeks after with the total amount adding up to 37, 5 units with focus now shifting to improving that quality of the leaf through frequent spraying.
“There is no topping (the removal of the apical bud at 16 and 18 leaves) in shisha, which means the plant does not develop suckers. It is left to flower in order to reduce the nicotine in the plant.
“The plant develops 25 to 30 leaves that are all reaped with no concern on their sizes,” continued Mr Makwenje.
He said a farmer needed to have enough barn capacity to handle all the reapings, as one hectare of shisha produces yield volumes equivalent to those from two hectares of normal tobacco.
Curing is done over five to six days to maintain quality with grading and baling following after that. Shisha requires less handling of its loose leaves to avoid colour change with the pale white colour being more preferred to orange. Spots on the thin leaf are not tolerated.
“Shisha is bought on the degree of spot prevalence with high prices being fetched by the less spotted, thin, whitish and clean leaves. This season’s highest shisha price has so far been US$5, 45 per kilogramme,” remarked Mr Makwenje.
He said from their three years of producing the crop, they have realised that it does well in slow-growing areas of Marondera and Macheke and not the fast-growing areas like Karoi and Banket that tend to promote a lot of spots. In such areas there is need to plant early under irrigation to reduce high incidences of spots, he said.
Online Reporter