Effect of Genotype and Method of Curing on Quality Constituents of Chewing Tobacco (Nicotiana Tabacum) Grown in Tamil Nadu

The effect of genotype and curing methods on quality characters of chewing tobacco grown in Tamil Nadu were investigated. Seven varieties of chewing tobacco were grown under recommended cultural practices and subjected to different curing methods viz., sun-curing, pit-curing and smoke-curing. The results revealed that the smoke-cured tobacco contained significantly higher levels of reducing sugars, chlorides and nitrate nitrogen and significantly lower levels of nicotine and starch as compared to sun and pit-cured tobaccos. Sun-cured leaf showed significantly higher content of rutin and starch over other curing methods. Pit-cured tobacco showed significantly higher per cent of chlorogenic acid and lower per cent of nitrate nitrogen. The nicotine content varied from 1.67 to 4.08% among the varieties under different curing methods. There was no significant variation in nicotine content among the varieties except the variety Maragadam which showed significantly lower nicotine content (2.52%). Popular varieties Bhagyalakshmi and Meenakshi showed significantly higher per cent of reducing sugars and chlorides, respectively over other varieties. The variety Abirami showed significantly lower rutin content whereas I-64 showed significantly higher chlorogenic acid. The method of curing significantly affects the biochemical constituents compared to the genotype.