Abstract:
To investigate the difference of chemical compound contents in flued-cured tobacco strips of different size in the main tobacco-producing areas in China, tobacco strips from five primary planting areas were screened using a blade vibratory separator. The discrepancy in chemical components from strips with different size before and after redrying was determined. The results showed that there was a significant difference in chemical composition among tobacco strips with different size. The chemical composition of large and medium strips was basically the same. For small strips, with the decrease of strip size, the contents of nicotine, total sugar and reducing sugar showed a downward trend, while the contents of total nitrogen, non-nicotinic nitrogen and potassium showed an upward trend. The variation degree of evaluation indexes among different strip size in Southeast and Southwest planting areas were greater than that in Huang-huai and North planting areas. There were significant differences in contents of reducing sugar, nicotine, ratio of sugar to nicotine and ratio of nitrogen to nicotine in fragments and debris before and after redrying. Therefore, it is more promising to improve the quality of modules in Southeast and Southwest planting areas by removing tobacco leaf fragments and debris and the fragments or debris were more suitable to be removed after redrying.