DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 1

 PRODUCTION OF FLUE-CURED


 TOBACCO IN FLORIDA



 Fred Clark and S. L. Brothers


 INTRODUCTION
 According to early historical records, tobacco (Nicotiana
tabacum L.) was planted in Florida in the late 1820's. However,
there is no definite information available as to when flue-
cured tobacco was first introduced. Flue-cured tobacco is often
called bright tobacco and gets its name from the curing process
which consists of heaters and flues to furnish controlled heat.
 Flue-cured tobacco is the principal cash field crop in Florida,
and contributes more than fifty percent of the total income
on farms where it is grown. Comparing two ten year periods,
1938-1947 and 1948-1957 the average yearly yield has increased
from 879 pounds to 1195 pounds per acre. The average yearly
gross return has increased from $4,855,837 to $11,176,972.
The complete history of flue-cured tobacco production from
1923 to 1957 is shown in Table 5.
 There are other types of tobacco-cigar wrapper (Type 62)
and cigar binder (Type 56)-grown in the state. However,
the purpose of this bulletin is to describe the cultural and
environmental conditions under which flue-cured tobacco is
grown in Florida.



 DESCRIPTION OF TOBACCO

 BOTANICAL
 Tobacco is native to the new world and belongs to a large
family of plants, known as the solanaceae family. There are
approximately 85 genera containing over 1,800 species in this
family.