Pinar del Rίo.— After successfully passing the experimental phase, a new, high-yielding variety of tobacco is being grown across farms in Pinar del Río and Artemisa.
Among its qualities, Corojo 2012 is more resistant to plagues and diseases which affect tobacco crops, and has a higher yield potential.
According to Nancy Santana MSc, specialist at the San Juan y Martínez-based Experimental Tobacco Station and member of the research team that developed the new variety, the crop was first grown on small plots by five selected producers during the 2012-2013 campaign.
Since then it has gradually been tested over increasingly larger areas, both indoors (for outer leaves) as well as outdoors (for filler leaves), with positive results seen across the two.
“In organoleptic tests conducted no difference was noted when compared with the Criollo 98 variety, the quality control standard used to evaluate varieties of Cuban grown black tobacco,” stated the specialist.
As a result, beginning this current campaign (2016-2017), Corojo 2012 was recognized as a commercial variety, and has been authorized to be grown on more than 200 hectares in Pinar del Río and Artemisa.
Among its key features, Corojo 2012 has two more useful leaves (20 in total) than the main varieties grown in the region, thus resulting in a higher yield.
Studies conducted show that the crop could produce yields of up to 2,350 kilograms per hectare, as compared to around 2,000 kg currently obtained from the other most widely grown varieties, noted the specialist.
It is also more resistant to pests and diseases such as Blue Mold, Tobacco mosaic virus, environmental necrosis, and above all Brown spot, which has been affecting crops over recent years.
“When it’s hot and humid, the varieties most commonly used today are fairly resistant to Brown spot, but losses do occur.
“Therefore the fact that Corojo 2012 is less vulnerable, as has been demonstrated in experimental tests, and production over several harvests, represents an important achievement.”
According to the expert, such accomplishments are the result of over 10 years of work by the Experimental Tobacco Station team, led by Vivaldo García MSc, who noted that the scientific institution, created 80 years ago, is currently in the experimental phase of developing other varieties, in order to increase the crop’s resistance to pests and diseases, while maintaining the quality parameters which have distinguished Cuban tobacco for centuries.
