Yield and Quality of Flue-Cured Tobacco

As Affected by Fertilization and Irrigation

 FRED CLARK, J. MOSTELLA MYERS, HENRY C. HARRIS
 and R. W. BLEDSOE

 Florida produces approximately 21,000 acres of flue-cured to-
bacco which has a cash value of over 12 million dollars annually.
This acreage is grown by approximately 6,800 farmers with an
average of slightly over three acres per grower.
 Flue-cured tobacco is grown in the field during the months
of March, April, May and June, with April and May being the
peak growing months. Figure 1, which is based in part on rain-
fall records for the past 67 years at Gainesville, shows that to-
bacco planted on or about March 15 may often suffer rather
severely from a deficiency of moisture during the months of April
and May. The moisture deficiency may be even more accentuated
during years when the rainfall distribution is erratic and often
causes a reduction in yield. However, a fairly high yield of to-
bacco having poor smoking qualities is sometimes produced.
 Flue-cured tobacco is generally grown in Florida on sandy soils
low in fertility and organic matter, which contain a relatively
small amount of available moisture at field capacity. These
conditions suggest the possible beneficial effects of irrigation on
producing high yields of good quality smoking tobacco.
 There have been numerous fertility experiments with tobacco
in the southeastern United States, including Florida. In most
instances, these tests have been conducted under natural rain-
fall conditions. Results have varied widely from season to
season, indicating that the moisture supply may have been a
major limiting factor during many seasons.
 The study of the effect of fertilization and irrigation prac-
tices on flue-cured tobacco under field conditions has been limited
to a small number of experiments. A series of experiments was
conducted at Gainesville during 1949, 1950 and 1951 to study
the influence of rates of fertilization and irrigation, as well as
of previous cropping practices, on yield and quality of flue-cured
tobacco. Results are reported in this bulletin.

 REVIEW OF LITERATURE
 Garner (15), Moss (20), Carr (2), McMurtrey (21), Carr and
Neas (3), Stinson and Murvin (24) and many other workers