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The Influence of Nitrogen, Potassium, and Magnesium Salts on the Composition of Burley Tobacco
Author(s) -
Evans H. J.,
Weeks M. E.
Publication year - 1948
Publication title -
soil science society of america journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.836
H-Index - 168
eISSN - 1435-0661
pISSN - 0361-5995
DOI - 10.2136/sssaj1948.036159950012000c0075x
Subject(s) - composition (language) , potassium , nitrogen , library science , chemistry , horticulture , computer science , art , literature , organic chemistry , biology
H IGH levels of nitrogen and potassium have been demonstrated in field studies to be necessary for satisfactory yields of high-quality burley tobacco, as measured by the value of leaf grades sold on the market. The.effect these fertilizer nutrients have on composition of leaf is not so well known and the relationship between quality and composition of burley tobacco has never been adequately studied. There has been a great deal of interest in the influence of form of nitrogen on the chemical composition of plants. Vickery, et al. (is) found that the form of nitrogen had a great effect on amount of organic acids, sugars, and various nitrogenous constituents in tobacco. Citric and malic acid, soluble carbohydrates, and nitrate nitrogen decreased as ammonium nitrogen was increased in the culture solutions. McEvoy (5), reporting on the influence of form of nitrogen on the inorganic composition of two varieties of burley tobacco, found that as nitrate nitrogen was increased over the ammonium form, growth and the content of potassium, magnesium, and calcium increased in the leaf and nitrogen and phosphorus decreased. Jacobson and Swanback (3) found that form of nitrogen affected the calcium content of tobacco tissue. Tiedjens and Robins (14) have shown that tomato and soybean plants assimilate ammonium nitrogen more efficiently at a pH of 7 or above, while nitrates were more efficiently assimilated at a pH from 4 to 5. Vladmirov (17, 18) reported that chlorides and nitrates in culture solutions stimulated production of organic acids in Nicotiana rustica, while sulfates and ammonium nitrogen retarded their accumulation. Karraker (4) found that quality of leaf was adversely affected by excessive chlorides. Some investigations tend to show that heavy fertilization of burley tobacco with high nitrogen fertilizers causes high nicotine contents, but others are not so conclusive. Potassium fertilizers have not consistently affected nicotine content. While these investigations and many more have a bearing on the relationship between fertilizer usage and composition of the crop, the whole problem needs further study to gain a greater knowledge of quality and relationship to the nutrition of burley tobacco. This paper deals with some phases of the problem in sand cultures and is an attempt to determine the influence of ammonium and nitrate nitrogen and chloride and sulfate of potassium with different magnesium levels on the growth and composition of burley tobacco. METHODS AND MATERIALS