Elita Chikwati Senior Agriculture Reporter
The hectarage put under flue-cured tobacco this season has marginally dropped owing to poor rainfall distribution, the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) has said. In its latest crop assessment report, compiled together with Agritex after an assessment in tobacco-growing areas from January 22 to February 2, 2018, TIMB said 104 397 hectares were put under tobacco this season compared to 110 518ha last season.

The dry-land crop was more affected than the irrigated crop, which is now at reaping, curing and grading stages. “The late onset of rains affected the establishment of the dryland crop,” said TIMB.

“This was also followed by a prolonged dry spell that resulted in the reduction of anticipated area planted. Communal and A1 farms were mostly affected by the dry spell due to lack of irrigation facilities, although some of the A2 farms were equally negatively affected by the prolonged dry spell.”

This season, the late rains, which were not uniformly distributed across all provinces, affected dryland crops the most.  “Reaping and curing of the irrigated crop is at an advanced stage, with more than 80 percent of the crop having been harvested,” said TIMB.

“Most of the cured leaf is lemon to orange in colour and of fair to good quality. “Some of the farmers have already started grading. The average yield from this planting is expected to be around 2 300 kilogrammes per hectare.”

The bulk of the dryland crop, which was planted around mid-October to end of November, is now at fully-grown to reaping stage. “Due to the poor distribution and late onset of rainfall, establishment of this crop was a big challenge to farmers, resulting in replanting; hence the crop is uneven in some areas, especially in A1 and communal farms,” said TIMB.

“Topping of the crop was done at between 14 and 16 leaves. The expected average yield is around 1 700kg per hectare.”  The late planted crop was planted from end of November to end of December.

The bulk of the crop that was planted later – mainly from A1 and communal farming sectors – was light-bodied and moisture-stressed due to the prolonged dry spell experienced in all provinces.

TIMB noted that aphids (pests) were pervasive across all the country’s provinces.  Tobacco production has been on the increase, with the bulk of the crop being grown under contract farming. This season, out of the 118 142 registered growers, 87 705 are contracted, while 30 543 are self-financed.