Ground-curing

• In U.P. the popularly grown hookah tobacco is slowly cured in heaps on the ground. At Kampil in Faraukhabad district, which is famous for its hookah tobacco, the wilted plants are cut and collected into heaps and are left in the field for two days after which the leaves are separated and tied into a bundle of two or three leaves.
• These bundles are again heaped up and stored on a farmstead and turned occasionally till finally cured.
• The chewing tobacco of Karnataka, after whole plants are cut, is allowed to remain on the ground for six days after which they are turned over in the early morning to expose the other side.

These fully exposed plants are taken to the curing-shed where they are bulked and rebulked for 15 to 20 days. The leaves are then separated from the plants tied into bundles according to their length or size.