Loss of yield and quality due to respiratory activities of detached flue-cured tobacco leaf
1998
Khairuddin Y. | Wan Zaki W. M. | Zamri I.
Detached tobacco leaves that were not cured immediately after harvest undergo physiological processes mainly respiratory activities resulting in the loss of substrates released as carbon dioxide and water. The loss in respiratory substrates contributed to the reduction in weight of detached leaves hence a loss in yield. Physical characteristics of detached leaves also changed with time prior to curing. The degradation of chlorophyll to other intennediate pigments resulted in the yellowing and appearance of brown discolouration. This phenomenon explained the reason for colour changes in the detached leaves. The release of water from detached leaves as the result of respiratory activities reduced the turgidity ofthe leaves hence resulted in the wilting ofthedetachedleaves. Theproduction ofcarbondioxidefrom breakdown ofcarbohydratessuch as starch and sugars from respiratory activities reduced the sugar content in cured leaf.The loss in weight due to leaf undergoing respiration is a significant factor in estimating yield losses because the delay in curing tobacco leaves after harvest was a common occurrence in many curing stations under traditional production system. Our study showed a 5% loss in cured leaf yield occurred for every single day the onset of curing was delayed. In addition there was a marked loss in cured leaf quality as indicated by a reduced net grade index and an increased in percentage of non-descript leaves. Hence an estimated loss of RM13.0-18.2 million per year in the local tobacco industry was attributed to the loss in yield due to a delay in the onset of curing after the tobacco leaves were detached from the plant.
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