Tobacco is one of the most economically important agricultural crops in the world. Indeed, farmers in over 100 developed and developing nations rely upon tobacco production to provide a stable source of cash income, and the processing, manufacture, and distribution of tobacco products provide employment for thousands of other people throughout the globe. To support the development of this industry, scientific and technical questions have been addressed by numerous investigators and their research results have been disseminated in various journals and proceedings appropriate for their fields of study. This monograph is intended to be a compilation of research topics and address all segments of the tobacco industry - from seed to smoke.Among the topics covered herein are the interrelationship among the growth and culture of the tobacco plant, the harvested leaves, their curing, processing and manufacture and the properties of the final product. The advancements in the genetics of tobacco and the future of biotechnological applications to tobacco improvement are addressed in terms of their impact on production and utilization. Tobacco is an inclusive term for number of different types of tobacco that require varied production and curing practices to deliver the characteristics unique for each tobacco type. These practices are described on a practical basis and analysed for their impact on leaf chemical and physical properties.Disease and insect control and management strategies are described within the context of good agricultural practices and this topic is extended to include control of insects in the stored product. A comprehensive update on tobacco would be incomplete without addressing leaf marketing systems, processing, and the manufacture and design of cigarettes. Sections on these topics are followed by a wide-ranging review of our current knowledge of smoke chemistry. Some of the world’s most distinguished experts have contributed to this book, providing a broad and often in-depth look at scientific and technical issues related to the tobacco industry. Many authors highlight future challenges to the industry, and it is these challenges presented that will prove invaluable to all those involved in the tobacco industry. Together, these contributions comprise the most comprehensive reference work yet published on this crop.
