Curing technology for upper leaves with stem of flue- cured tobacco

Studies to improve the usability of the upper leaves was carried out in Longyan, Fujian Province.The results showed that the curing of the upper four to eight leaves with stem could improve the apparent quality of flue- cured tobacco, enhance the first grade tobacco leaf proportion by 10 percent, increase the average price and K2O content by 0.65- 0.84 yuan / kg and 0.03%- 0.19% respectively, and reduce the weight per leaves by 0.41 g, decrease the amounts of nicotine, total sugar and reducing sugar by 0.01%- 0.5%, 2.29% and 1.64% respectively. The quality and usability of the upper leaves were imprved significantly with the uniform of tobacco quality.