Influence of Nitrogen Nutrition and Suckering Practice on Content and Distribution of Certain Mineral Elements in Burley Tobacco1

Abstract

AbstractNicotiana tabacum L. cv. ‘Burley 21’ was grown in the field at Lexington, Ky., to determine the influence of N nutrition and suckering practices on concentration and distribution of principal mineral elements in different plant parts. Generally, total plant contents of K, Ca, Mg, and Mn all increased as the N fertilizer rate was increased from 112 to 224 kg N/ha, but increasing the rate to 448 kg N/ha provided no further increases in uptake with exception of Mn. The Mn content was nearly doubled by increasing the rate of N from 224 to 448 kg/ha. As an average of all treatments, total uptake of P, K, Ca, Mg, and Mn was 12, 211, 152, 26, and 0.8 kg/ha, respectively.Practices to control suckers (axillary buds) and tops (seed heads), as well as the harvest date, influenced both total uptake and distribution of mineral elements among plant parts. Total uptake decreased with increasing degree of sucker control and was least for plants treated with maleic hydrazide. Data for harvest date indicated that considerable redistribution of elements occurred among plant parts between harvest dates. Elements generally considered to have the greatest mobility in plants, e.g., P, K, and to a lesser extent Mg, were present in relatively high amounts in tops and suckers and in relatively low amounts in leaves. The reverse was true for Ca and Mn.