Flue-cured tobacco in South Africa has over the years produced high amounts of sponged leaf, although the reaping of leaf was done at the correct physiological time. We asked if this was due to incorrect curing methods and due to meteorological influence and altitude, if so how do we correct it. To substantiate our claims we implemented data loggers, these were placed in three locations inside the barn.

Our data showed that the results correlated with our statement, finding that the fast loss of moisture was due to the curing areas being situated 1000 meters above sea level. Each data sample was analysed focusing on one hour intervals at the crucial stages of curing. Analyzing the data from our weather station we found that there was a correlation between loss off moisture from the barns and meteorological conditions outside the barn. A new curing method and system was devised to maintain the wet bulb at 38 °C. This system connects the wet bulb directly to the thermostat, using only the wet bulb as control method.

Our conclusion after three seasons of comparing data and leaf quality, the difference in sponged percentage of tobacco between manual curing and Dyna-Thermo-Sync (wet bulb control) is stark. With farmers showing results of 0 % sponged tobacco from barns on this system, compared to barns that produce on average 20 % and more sponged leaf with conventional methods. We also found that it reduced curing time and had a reduction on the overall cost. The meteorological and altitude influence on curing was found to be definite and not negligible as was the original perception.