Don’t look now, but something is happening to improve the income of Virginia tobacco farmers in the Ilocos. One is the dissemination of two new varieties that produce higher-priced flue-cured leaves, higher-yielding and are also resistant to pests and diseases.

Another development is an innovation in the flue-curing barn which uses strong carton as siding in the upper portion instead of the more expensive materials. Another innovation is the use of a firing pit one meter below the ground instead of the usual feeding of wooden fuel at the ground level.

A third technology is the use of the organic fertilizer Durabloom in combination with special formulations of chemical fertilizers which results in bigger and thicker leaves with higher nicotine content. The nicotine content is said to be responsible for the better burning quality of the cigarette and the aroma desired by smokers.

One of the planters of the new varieties, NC2326 and K326, is Victor Valledor of Brgy. Lapting, San Juan, Ilocos Sur. He is an agriculturist of the National Tobacco Administration who is also doing his tobacco farming in his own farm.

Victor said that the two new varieties were introduced in San Juan in 2002. The two new varieties are also known as the “Topped Tobacco”. That is because when the NC2326 has produced 14 leaves, it is detopped. In the case of K326, it is detopped when it has produced 18 to 20 leaves. The purpose is to make the leaves thicker, bigger and with puckered appearance. This is to produce leaves with higher nicotine content.

The innovated flue-curing barn has its own advantages. Besides being cheaper, it can effectively use fuel other than wood from the forest. Corn cobs, corn stover and anything that will burn can be used as fuel.

The use of Durabloom, a processed fertilizer inoculated with enzymes and beneficial microorganisms, also offers a lot of benefits, according to Valledor. He has observed that the leaves of his tobacco plants fertilized with Durabloom have a longer ripening period. For instance, those fertilized with chemical fertilizers alone ripen in 56 days from planting. On the other hand, those fertilized with Durabloom ripen 65 days after planting.

This is an advantage because leaves that ripen longer have better curing quality. The leaves are orange in color and contain higher nicotine sought by cigarette manufacturers. Also, soil fertilized with the organic fertilizer retains moisture longer, hence frequent irrigation may not be needed.