HARVESTING AND CURING 
HARVESTING 
When the crop is mature, 90 to 120 days after transplanting, it is har- 
vested by one of two methods: (1) by "priming," in which the leaves are picked 
individually from the plant from time to time as they ripen; or (2) by "stalk- 
cutting,'' in which the entire plant or stalk is cut. 
Much of the success in curing tobacco depends on its being harvested when 
it is at just the right stage of ripeness--neither too ripe nor too green. 
This is probably the most critical point in the production of good quality to 
bacco, and it takes an experienced eye to recognize this proper stage of ripe- 
ness. Such experience is usually gained only through long years of growing and 
harvesting tobacco crops. 
Yield per acre. Tobacco when harvested averages from 1,000 tonearly 2,000 
pounds per acre, depending on the type, with the average for all United States 
tobacco about 1,700 pounds. The trend in recent years has been toward greater 
yields and, during the last decade, the yield for all types has increased from 
1,300 to 1,700 pounds per acre--a gain of 30 percent. 
(1) Priming. Flue-cured and cigar wrapper tobaccos are harvested by the 
priming method (figs. 11 and 12). Puerto Rican filler is also harvested almost 
entirely in this way. Beginning at the bottom, two to four leaves are picked 
from the stalk at a time. The fields must be gone over from 4 to 6 times, in 
order to get all the leaves at the right stage of ripeness. 
Figure 11.--Loading primed flue-cured tobacco into a tobacco 
drag between the rows for hauling to the curing bam. 
= Waa 
