DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 29

bacco of excellent leaf quality when fertilized with a 4-8-10
analysis fertilizer.
 To fertilize tobacco where irrigation is not used 36 to 45
pounds of nitrogen, 80 to 120 pounds of phosphoric acid and
90 to 140 pounds of potash per acre are recommended.
 Where irrigation is used, and particularly where little regard
is given to amounts of irrigation water applied, and on very
sandy soils, rates of 45 to 60 pounds of nitrogen, 80 to 120
pounds of phosphoric acid and from 140 to 160 pounds of
potash may be needed to produce the desirable leaf quality.
 Preparation of Soil for Transplanting: The shift from the
use of horses and mules to tractor preparation of soil for
planting tobacco, has aided in providing for a better soil
tilth. The earliness of preparation depends on the kind of
vegetation growing on the area, and to the decision of the
grower as to the need for fumigating the soil for the control
of nematodes.
 Pasture grass sods generally require a longer period of
time between preparation and planting than most other types
of vegetation to allow for the better decomposition of the sod
roots. Deep plowing at preparation time is also helpful. Disk-
ing ahead of applying the fertilizer will control winter weeds
and put the soil in fine tilth before applying the fertilizer.
 Methods of Applying Fertilizer: From tests and observations
tobacco has responded equally well from no fertilization at
transplanting time as it has when all or part of the fertilizer
was applied ahead, or at transplanting time. There are many
ways that fertilizer may be applied to tobacco, (1) drill row,
(2) side placement, (3) part drill row plus side placement and
by (4) broadcasting the fertilizer over the area.
 The first consideration in using fertilizer is to make the
 plants grow; however, if the fertilizer is not applied properly
 poor plant stand may result from fertilizer burn to the young
 plant roots, thus causing poor stands and uneven plant growth.
 (See figure 16 and 17).
 Most of the fertilizers are applied by a horse or tractor
 drawn fertilizer distributor. There are transplanters available
 which are used for transplanting and putting out the fertilizer
 at the same time. At present more growers prefer the drill