Influence of moisture content on mold development in flue-cured tobacco during storage

저장중 황색종 잎담배의 수분 함량이 곰팡이 발생에 미치는 영향

Mold development on leaf tobacco(Flue-cured, var. NC 82) during the storage was examined according to the initial moisture content(MC) of the tobacco. The initial moisture content of the leaf tobacco was controlled as 12,14,16% after redrying. Those were packed in cardboard boxes and stored in a warehouse. Samples were taken monthly from June of 1988 through August of 1989 and were evaluated for mold development (colony count) and MC. The moisture content change in the leaf tobacco of 12, 14 and 16% initial MC was in the range of 11.1-13.3, 12.8-15.3 and 14.9-16.7% and the mean number of colonies from them were 1.4$\times$102, 1.0$\times$102, and 4.0$\times$102 colonies per gram of tobacco, respectively, however mold-damaged leaf tobacco other than the treatments was occasionally observed to have the colony number as high as 2.3$\times$105 colonies per gram of tobacco. In the meantime, the leaf tobacco was stored at 6 relative humidity levels at $25^{\circ}C$ in laboratory test. Leaf tobacco of 15.0-16.4% MC was maintained without the mold-damage after 80 days of storage whereas those of 19.9, 21.3, 25.5 and 27.1% MC became moldy after 50, 15, 11 and 6 days of storage, respectively.