Tobacco growing is still currently a very diffused cultivation in certain areas of the world. China, Brazil, India and USA are some of the biggest growers with reference to number of cultivated hectares. Even today, therefore, this aromatic plant represents a substantial source of income for many growers. This is mostly related to the fact that the use of cigarettes, cigars and pipes (that come from tobacco growing and cut) is still largely widespread.
Nowadays there are various types of this aromatic plant that differ in colour (lighter or darker), which depends on the ground where the plant sprouts and grows. For example, dark tobacco generally comes from a clayey and heavy ground that is very fertile. On the contrary, light tobacco grows in loose soils, characterized by a low organic and plenty of water. The balance of chemical products contained in the leaves defines tobacco quality: in order to be considered a valuable product, the leaves have to contain carbohydrates, pigments, resins, essential oils and natural elements.
Tobacco growing requires professionality and precision in all of its phases, from sprouting until cut, and, above all, transplant. For the first phase, the plant requires an average temperature of 15°C; on the contrary, its needs change over time: the transplant has to take place from April to June and with no heavy rains, with temperatures varying from 25°C and 30°C. Since transplant is a very crucial moment for the plant, it is fundamental to use specific machines, innovative and advanced tobacco transplanters. These machines allow on the one hand to protect the plant from a “post-transplant shock” (more frequent than one might think), and on the other hand to save time, labour force and money.
Ferrari Growtech’s transplanters for tobacco include automatic and semi-automatic models, in order to fulfil the needs of any grower of this aromatic plant. Among the automatic models we can find FUTURA and FUTURA TWIN, which require a very limited use of labour force, because the machine works almost independently: the operator only has to feed the transplanter robots with trays. Moving fingers will then extract the modules and lay them on the ground, taking into consideration the best distance between the plants and between the rows. This allows tobacco to grow luxuriantly.
The semi-automatic tobacco transplanters refer to the FMAX and FPP EVO models. Combining handwork, machine independency and innovation, they guarantee remarkable yields.
Ferrari Growtech’s machines stand out for their high precision, which allows to identify and to obtain the specific plant spacings, thus offering every plant the right growing space. The automatic systems of the machine make sure that the tobacco company can rely on high productivity at lower cost, with excellent hourly yields.
