The flavor of tobacco is greatly influenced by the type of soil in which it is grown. Organic tobacco is cultivated in a truly natural way, without using any insecticides or fertilizers. Only biological fertilizers and pesticides are used in the nurturing process. Pests are controlled by natural methods. The price of organic tobacco is almost double the price of the conventional tobacco. It has to be mentioned that the yield of tobacco produced naturally will be less than half the amount when compared to the conventional tobacco farming. Still, natural tobacco production is a good option for the farmers with less cultivable land.
The tobacco grown naturally can be harvested either by priming or stalk cutting. In priming, the leaves are plucked as they reach the prime. The collected leaves are placed loosely somewhere or just hung to get ready for curing. The stalks are cut and split for drying in stalk cutting method. The plants are placed on big planks for curing.
Curing of the tobacco makes it ready for consumption. It takes one or two months to complete the air curing process. In flue curing, the leaves are exposed to high temperatures in the early stages itself so that their color lightens. Fire curing is done after a few days of drying. This alters the flavor of the tobacco leaves.
In natural farming of tobacco, the efforts put by the farmers allow them to reap great profits. But due to the paucity of people who have a good knowledge of the methodology to cultivate organic tobacco and the considerable effort they need to put in, production rates are fairly less.