Sebesten business widely operated as traditional business

18 June

 

MYANMAR people may not have seen Sebesten (Cordia dichotoma), but few have ever seen its leaf because of a large number of people who smoke Sebesten cigarettes (cheroot-like smoking article consisting of tobacco rolled in a wrapper made from the leaf of Cordia dichotoma tree).

 

Sebesten (Cordia dichotoma) is a species of flowering tree in the borage family, Boraginaceae, and mainly grown in Lonetwe, Naungphat, Kaunglaing, Kaungyaw, Taungkwe, Nanli, Minekyin, Panlyin, Nanmawmar, Humine, Minekyi, Nan kut, Panlin areas in Mongpan Township, Nan Khote area and Hopong, Shan State (South).

 

Sebesten business is one of the main industries in Shan State. Growers cultivate the tree on dry hillsides after clearing the mountain forests. Each plantation grows 50 to 4,000 plants. The land is burned in Pyatho and Tabodwe months and sown in Kason month. When the seedlings become about 36 inches, they are taken out from the ground, cut the lateral roots, and only the main root is planted two feet apart. Fertilization of Sebesten trees; Earthquake It is better to do the weeding. When the branches reach the plants and spread out, only two or three main branches are left to clear the rest, and the leaves are sprayed several times to prevent the leaves from being infected.

 

It is better to do weeding and fertilization in planting Sebesten plants. When the branches reach the plants and spread out, only two or three main branches are left to clear the rest, and the leaves are sprayed with pesticide to prevent them from being infected. If the plant grows, the leaves should be picked from the age of three, and if the soil is poor, the leaves should be picked from the age of four. Each plant produces 30 to 40 leaves. Waso, Wakaung and Tawthalin months are harvesting time and the leaves are harvested four times a year.

 

In making Sebesten leaves cigarettes, the veins of the leaves are removed one by one and dryfried in a pan that is on a long stove. Then, the fried leaves are sold to the markets once they have been sorted to small and large sizes. There are 6,000 small leaves and 7,000 large ones in one viss, and about 1,200 visses are reportedly sold every year. It is learned that more than 7,000 acres of Sebesten plants have been grown, mainly in Hopong, Shan State. — Zeya Htet (Minbu)/ GNLM