Northwest Tobacco Seeds

Providing nicotiana seeds at 
wholesale prices for retail distributors 
and growers world wide
Tobaccos, Rusticas and Ornamentals

What are low converters? Tobacco plants produce many different alkaloids. Two of the most commonly produced alkaloids are nicotine and nornicotine, which are closely chemically related. During the curing and drying process, some nicotine chemically converts to nornicotine. The heat of combustion can then convert some of the nornicotine into TSNA's, or Tobacco-specific nitrosamines. Tobacco-specific nitrosamines comprise one of the most important groups of carcinogens in tobacco products, particularly cigarettes and American style fermented dipping snuff. 

 Over the past several decades, selective breeding has reduced the nornicotine content in most modern day varieties to near zero in burley and dark tobacco types. With the goal of further reducing TNSA's, research is now focused on lowering the amount of nicotine which converts to nornicotine during the curing process. To qualify as a LC tobacco, the conversion rate must be 3% or lower. 

 The conversion rate of nicotine to nornicotine is controlled by particular genes in the plant, but is not consistent from plant to plant, and declines in successive generations. To be classified as an F1 generation LC tobacco, a leaf sample must be take from each plant during each growing season and it's conversion rate measure. Only seeds from plants with less than a 3% conversation rate can qualify as certified F1 generation LC seed.

About TN 86:
  TN 86, the first burley tobacco variety having resistance to TVMV and TEV diseases, was released by the University of Tennessee as a commercial cultivar in 1986. The new cultivar, which is also resistant to black shank, black root rot, wildfire, and most strains of potato virus Y, was developed at the Tobacco Experiment Station in Greeneville. TN 86 is a medium-to-late-maturing cultivar at about 80 days, that has more leaves and a more upright growth habit than other burley cultivars. Extensive testing throughout Tennessee and surrounding states has demonstrated that TN 86 is widely adaptable. TN 86 has substantially out-yielded other burley cultivars in areas that have heavy infestations of TVMV or TEV diseases. The cured leaf is generally reddish-tan in color and has consistently sold for prices comparable to or higher than those for other cultivars.

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