Abstract
Flue-cured tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) is a major cash crop in Yunnan, China, and the yield, chemical components, and their proportions decide the quality of tobacco leaves. To understand the effects of environmental factors (soil and climatic factors) on the yield and quality of flue-cured tobacco and determine the main regulating factors, we selected three flue-cured tobacco cultivars [K326, Yunyan87 (Yun87), and Honghuadajinyuan (Hongda)] grown in the Honghe Tobacco Zone. Indices related to yield and economic traits, chemical component properties, soil physical and chemical properties, and climatic factors at different planting sites, were evaluated. We used variance analysis, correlation analysis, and redundancy analysis (RDA) in this study. The results showed that the yield and chemical component properties of flue-cured tobacco, except for the number of left leaves and plant total sugar (PTS) content, were significantly correlated with climatic factors. Particularly, the yield increased in drier and sunnier weather. In terms of the carbon supply capacity, PTS, petroleum ether (PPE), and starch contents (PS) were higher under high-altitude and high-latitude climatic conditions, whereas for the nitrogen supply capacity, plant nitrogen (PTN) and nicotine (PN) contents improved under low-altitude and low-latitude climatic conditions. PTS, reducing sugar (PRS), potassium (PTK), chlorine (PCL), and PPE contents were negatively related to soil clay content, soil pH, and soil organic matter, whereas PRS and PTK contents were positively correlated with alkali-hydrolyzed nitrogen (AN). According to RDA, the soil clay, AN, available phosphorus (AP), and soil chlorine content (SCL) strongly affected the quality of flue-cured tobacco. The quality of the K326 and Yun87 cultivars was mostly influenced by moisture, whereas the quality of the Hongda cultivar was mostly affected by temperature. In conclusion, compared with soil properties, climatic factors more significantly affect the yield and quality of Honghe flue-cured tobacco leaves.
Highlights
Flue-cured tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) is a major cash crop in Yunnan, China, and the yield, chemical components, and their proportions decide the quality of tobacco leaves
The results showed that soil properties and climatic factors altogether influenced seven yield variables and eleven variables related to internal chemical composition in flue-cured tobacco
Both the yield and economic value of flue-cured tobacco were affected by the interaction between tobacco cultivar type and planting site; K326 was more suited to the JS site, and there were no significant differences between K326 and Yun 87 at the ML site, with both producing higher yields with a higher economic value
Summary
Flue-cured tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) is a major cash crop in Yunnan, China, and the yield, chemical components, and their proportions decide the quality of tobacco leaves. The results showed that the yield and chemical component properties of flue-cured tobacco, except for the number of left leaves and plant total sugar (PTS) content, were significantly correlated with climatic factors. Compared with soil properties, climatic factors more significantly affect the yield and quality of Honghe flue-cured tobacco leaves. Studies showed that the responses of the Yuyan[6] and Yunyan[87] (Yun87) varieties to water stress differed at the proteomic level[24] Climatic factors such as rainfall, temperature, and frost can affect the incidence and severity of disease in flue-cured tobacco[4]. High concentrations of total nitrogen induce excessive growth of tobacco[28] and cause an imbalance of chemicals in the plants[29], affecting the yield and quality of tobacco leaves.
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