Divisi
When to plant Tobacco in Maputsoe
Leribe, Lesotho
Tobacco is a tall, broad-leaved plant in the same family as tomato and potato, grown not for food but for its leaves, which are dried and cured, then sold by weight and grade.
| Measure | Rain-fed | With irrigation |
|---|---|---|
| Fit | Favourable | |
| When to plant | 8 Dec 2026 – 17 Dec 2026 opens in 10 weeks | 29 Aug 2026 – 17 Nov 2026 |
| Expected harvest | about 1.7 t/ha | about 3.4 t/ha |
| Harvest | From 8 Mar 2027 to 16 Apr 2027, depending on the planting date | |
| Ready to harvest | 90–120 days after planting | |
| Work it takes | 120–242 days per hectare, by hand | |
| Rain meets its needs | 60% | |
Rain-fed. These dates are worked out from each place's own rainfall, for a field watered by the season — with irrigation a window can open earlier, close later, or come round more than once a year. Check your own field under What grows, or get the Divisi app for a calendar dated to your farm.
If you only get one chance to plant, aim for around 8 Dec 2026. That is the point in the window where the rains are most reliably established.
This season's rainfall outlook for Maputsoe leans dry, so these dates sit later than the long-run average. Planting on the date you are used to risks germinating into a false start and having to replant.
Planting after 17 Dec 2026 leaves the crop short of season: it runs into the dry months before it has finished filling.
What decides this in Maputsoe
| Rain and temperature | 88% |
|---|---|
| The soil | 96% |
| The lie of the land | 88% |
For tobacco in Maputsoe, rain and temperature is the tightest of the three at 88%. This one is fixed. It is why the planting window above is where it is — hitting those dates is the whole of your control here.
The 2026/27 season in Maputsoe
| Rainy seasons | One each year — one chance to plant, so timing carries it |
|---|---|
| When the rains are expected | October 2026 to May 2027 |
| Rain in a typical year | About 628 mm |
| This season's rain | Leaning dry — January, February, November and December look short of rain. Plant at the early end of the window, favour quicker and more drought-tolerant crops, and keep moisture in the soil: mulch, and weed early. |
| This season's heat | Hotter than usual — about +1.8 °C over the growing months. Heat makes the same rain do less, so a dry spell bites sooner: do not plant late, and shade or mulch what you can. |
| What that supports | enough rain for one full main crop, warm, with a cool spell that slows winter growth |
| Ground this covers | 2 kinds of ground. The season below is the largest that farms — about 67% of this area. |
| 67% | enough rain for one full main crop; warm, with a cool spell that slows winter growth 187 growing days · about 630 mm · October to May |
|---|---|
| 33% | enough rain for one full main crop; warm, with a cool spell that slows winter growth 187 growing days · about 630 mm · October to May |
last updated 16 September 2026
Limited water holds back about 40% of yield here.
What tobacco needs to grow here
| Soil it likes | well-drained sandy loam or loam soil |
|---|---|
| Soil sourness (pH) | Happiest between pH 5.5 and 6.5 |
| Spacing | 120 cm between rows, 55 cm between plants |
| Feed it most with | nitrogen and potassium |
What it takes to grow tobacco in Maputsoe
| Planting material | About 16,000 plants per hectare |
|---|---|
| Nitrogen (N) | About 63 kg per hectare |
| Phosphate (P₂O₅) | About 19 kg per hectare |
| Potash (K₂O) | About 102 kg per hectare |
| In the shops | A basal compound at planting — Compound D, or an NPK blend — covers the phosphate and potash. A nitrogen top dressing — urea or AN — goes on once the crop is established. |
| Hand work | 120–242 days per hectare, by hand |
These are the nutrients a tobacco crop of that size carries off the field. What you actually apply depends on what your soil already holds — which is what a soil test, or the app's field records, tell you.
What to watch for
Grow Tobacco with a plan, not a guess
Everything above describes Maputsoe as a whole — your own soil, slope and rainfall will shift the dates. The Divisi app works them out for your field, and dates each job that follows.
Tobacco in nearby districts
This calendar moves
Planting windows shift with the forecast. Leave your email and we'll send what changed, and a note when planting time nears — a couple of emails a month at most.
Frequently asked questions
Will tobacco grow well in Maputsoe?
Maputsoe rates as favourable for tobacco.
When should I plant tobacco in Maputsoe?
Typically 8 Dec 2026 to 17 Dec 2026, forecast-adjusted.
Is this exact for my own field?
No — these are readings taken across Maputsoe, not on your field. Soil, slope and rainfall change from one farm to the next. Check your own location to see your own numbers.
