Topping

• Tobacco is an apically dominant plant. If the terminal bud is removed, lateral buds develop into a reproductive bud and produces flowers.
• A tobacco plant has potential to produce a sucker at each axial. Thus, topping and desuckering becomes an essential management practice in tobacco cultivation.
• Topping is the process of removal of flower heads either alone or with few upper leaves from the plants with the following objectives;

–  To improve the size, body, texture and qualities of leaves.

–  For full development of the top leaves and increase leaf yield.

• In topping, the top portion of the plant that comprise 15-20 cm in length from the upper most leaves is removed.
• A topped plants yield higher quality leaves and ripens more uniformly. The effects of topping are more pronounced in younger leaves than the older ones.
• Topping prevents excessive coarseness in the leaves, seed production and allows carbohydrates and nutrients to go towards the vegetative parts of the plant.
• It helps in the increase of sugar and nicotine content especially in the upper leaves.
• Topping begins in Burley tobacco when about 50% of the plants show flower heads, in Cigar wrapper and filler tobacco before flower opening and in flue-cured when the plants have 10-15 leaves (beginning of the flower opening).

Number of leaves left on the plant after topping for different types of tobacco