Maturation:  a tobacco plant’s leaves mature from the bottom up.  Mature leaves, depending on their location on the plant, contain different chemical and organic properties (see Criollo plant section).  A mature leaf will…

·         lay horizontally on the plant

·         have a yellowish center vein

·         cut away from the plant “like butter”

Harvesting:  The herculean task of harvesting tobacco leaves begins by picking 2 to 3 leaves at a time, once a week [starting from the bottom].  The process of staggering the leaf harvest is called Priming.

Advanced Academic Content:

Stalk-Cut: typically used on Broadleaf varietals.

Stalk-Priming: a nearly forgotten Cuban technique.