Topping

[Bex]

Presumably the idea of this is the same as with other 'vegetables', topping off the plant when buds are about to form, to encourage more leaf growth?? Is that correct? Or if not, when do you do it? On some plants (not tobacco), I would also cut top growth to encourage the plant to grow bushier, rather than higher. I'm assuming that tobacco growth is somewhat of the same procedure, but as this is my first year of taking this kind of 'seriously', I thought it might be best to ask the experts!!

 

[Blender86]

Yep, from my understanding. Some people will even snap a branch over and this is said to encourage outward growth as well. I've seen it work firsthand with non tobacco plants. Might be worth looking into.

 

[leverhead]

Topping is the removal of the flower bud head and the leaves that you don't intend to cure. The plant reacts in two ways, the first is it tries to grow a new flower head by putting out suckers at the joint between the remaining leaves and the stalk. The second is the energy goes into making the rest of the leaves bigger and heavier. The suckers need to be removed regularly or they will reduce the gains in leaf growth. Taking time to remove the suckers is a good excuse to be looking for other problems, bugs or disease.

 

[squeezyjohn]

Presumably the idea of this is the same as with other 'vegetables', topping off the plant when buds are about to form, to encourage more leaf growth?? Is that correct? Or if not, when do you do it? On some plants (not tobacco), I would also cut top growth to encourage the plant to grow bushier, rather than higher. I'm assuming that tobacco growth is somewhat of the same procedure

You've already had the right answer here ... but I will just add that tobacco is a little different to topping most plants. If you top and leave it alone it will bush out as you say, but the bushiness will be the suckers and if you let them grow you will end up with lots and lots of little unripe leaves and the large ones you want will cease to carry on getting larger and riper. So after topping - you need to follow up by removing the suckers in much the same way that you would do with a vine tomato plant. This way - your plants will put all their energy in to ripening the large leaves you want.

 

[CT Tobaccoman]

I would just add that the more ripe the bud is, like if it is producing flowers already, the less time generally before you can cut--harvest--the plants. (I am assuming that you are concerned here about plants that are stalk cut, though I know that you do have flue cured--it probably holds for both primed and cut types)

In Connecticut, the broadleaf is cut about 2 weeks after topping. However, if you top early, shortly after the buds appear, the plants can remain up to 6 weeks or even longer before cutting.

I live in a similar climate as you, on outer Cape Cod in Massachusetts, close to the North Atlantic, a thin peninsula 40 miles out to sea. Nights are already in the 40sF and a high of 70F is as good as it gets. It is humid most days, which is good for the tobacco. We've been lucky with a lot of sunny days but usually this season is damp and cloudy.

I topped my plants as soon as I could for 2 reasons. One is that I started late, and the other is that I am anxious to grow the biggest and ripest leaves that I can before I have to cut them. I hope for good weather into October with no hurricanes or Nor'easters but that would be unusual.

Hope that is a bit of a help. Generally, if you are growing in a region with a colder climate and a shorter growing season than in the usual tobacco growing regions, I'd think it wise to top early as soon as the buds appear and not wait for flowering to occur.

CT

 

[Knucklehead]

Topping also induces the roots to put nicotine into the leaves.

 

[Mad Oshea]

Along with priming for nicotine out put.