These tobaccos are grown in the
districts of Bursa, Inegöl, Orhangazi, M.Kemalpaşa,
Mudanya, Iznik, Karamürsel, Bilecik, Yenişehir and partly at Geyve, all of which are in
the Marmara region.
The leaves of this variety
are of medium, partly small size, narrow winged and heart shaped. Their texture is
slightly thick, elastic and resistant to stress. Their colour is from light red to red.
The midribs and main veins of the leaves are slightly thicker than their lamina.
The light coloured leaves
are milder in taste, whereas the darker ones are rather satisfying. These tobaccos have a
special aroma of their own which resembles the smell of apricots.
Bursa tobaccos add a
satisfying and sweet taste to the blends. They also increase their cutting property and
improve the uniformity of the colour within the blends. Since these tobaccos can adopt
themselves to the peculiarities of the various blends, they can be used in every kind of
blends in high proportion.
The filling capacity and
combustibility rate of these tobaccos are moderate, however they have a very high
hygroscopicity. Their nicotine content is approx. 1%.
As Bursa tobaccos have
lately been in great demand on world markets, the cultivation areas have been extended and
production increases from year to year.
Since the region in which
these tobaccos are produced is an uneven land and the area covered is quite vast, the soil
shows some what different characteristics from place to another, Brown coloured forest
soils are predominating, consisting of olive coloured, fine grained, stony or schistous
and calcareous elements. The top soil is fine, greyish brown in colour, granular, of a
loamy-clay and loamy character. The soil has a neuter-alkaline reaction and is as deep as
8-15 cms.
The average temperature
during the growing stage is 21.5º C. total rainfall 111.0 mm. and average relative
humidity 60 %.
Farmers stack their tobaccos
in the Rumeli method. Each bale weighing 15-30 kgs. After processing. Commercial bales of
15-20-25-30 kgs. are produced in the same method.
Depending on demand these tobaccos can also
be baled, after processing, in small tongas, each weighing 20-25 kgs.