(Baonghean.vn) – Every year in April and May, people in Nghe An are busy harvesting and processing tobacco.
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| Tobacco is planted in September but is not harvested until April of the following year and the leaves are mainly used. In Dien Chau district, tobacco is grown in Dien Hanh, Dien Xuan, Dien Nguyen communes... Dien Hanh is the locality with the largest growing area, nearly 3 hectares. The harvest time is when the plants are large and have yellow leaves. Through senses and experience, growers will determine the exact time when the tobacco leaves are "ripe". If picked early, the leaves will still be green, making the tobacco color not bright and beautiful, and the quality will be poor. Photo: Quang An |
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| Tobacco is processed by hand. After being picked, the leaves are incubated until slightly dry and then rolled into tobacco sticks about 3-5 m long and 20-25 cm in diameter, then put into a cutting machine. Photo: Quang An |
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| A sharp knife is the tool used to cut tobacco. This step is quite difficult because it requires the worker to have experience to make the tobacco fibers as small as possible. Photo: Quang An |
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| After the tobacco is chopped, use specialized chopsticks on drying trays. The tobacco chopsticks consist of 6 pieces, which help to spread the tobacco leaves evenly. Photo: Quang An |
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| After being spread evenly on the drying trays, the tobacco is quickly loaded onto trucks and transported to the drying location to avoid discoloration. According to Dien Chau residents, one sao of tobacco can be spread on about 200 drying trays. Photo: Quang An |
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| Beautiful tobacco drying trays. Photo by Quang An |
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| Ms. Tam, a tobacco farmer in Dien Hanh commune (Dien Chau) shared her experience: “When drying, you need to monitor the weather. If it rains or is cool and there is no sun, it will affect the color change time and quality of the tobacco. Photo: Quang An |
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| The finished tobacco fibers are dark brown and fragrant, and people will wrap them into cakes. Each dried tray can wrap 26-30 tobacco cakes. They are then packaged in plastic to prevent moisture and exported to localities. Photo: Quang An |
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| According to people in Dien Hanh commune (Dien Chau), when tobacco prices are high, they can harvest more than 10 million VND/sao. Currently, each tobacco cake costs 2,000 VND, but at peak times, the price can go up to 5,000 VND/cake. Photo: Quang An |
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| Today, tobacco is still used by many people. Photo: Quang An |
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| In addition to harvesting leaves, people also take care of the plants to make them flower and collect seeds for the following season. This is a way to maintain the traditional breed of the localities. Currently, tobacco in Dien Chau is purchased by traders from Do Luong, Tan Ky, Thanh Chuong districts and other districts in the West. Tobacco is also used by the people as a medicine to stop bleeding, treat snake bites, heal wounds, treat worms, burns, etc. Photo: Quang An |
Quang An
.jpg "Nghệ An phát động Tháng hành động Vì trẻ em năm 2025")
