Pinar del Rio, Cuba, Oct 3 (Prensa Latina) The western province of Pinar del Río, the largest tobacco producer in Cuba, is speeding up the 2017-2018 campaign, whose formal beginning is scheduled for October 10.
Provincial authorities are committed to meet the challenge of augmenting output to cover for the decline in national production, as plantations in the central province of Sancti Spiritus, the country’s second best producer, were hardly hit by hurricane Irma.
According to plan, the territory will plant about 18,704 hectares, 784 of which will be covered with cloth to protect them from the sun. It provides the layers that cover the world famous cigars.
After completing the planting and preparation program for seedbeds that supply the necessary sprouts to be sown, irrigation will be increased, in order to have 340,000 of them by November.
A new element of the campaign is the construction of 68 seedling houses located mainly in Vueltabajo and responsible for delivering high-quality sprouts for the covered plantation areas.
