The Time and Rate of Nutrient Absorption by Flue‐Cured Tobacco¹

Abstract

OAPID chemical plant tissue tests have been found .useful in r\. studying the time and rate of nutrient absorption by plants, the effect of the absorption of one nutrient on that of another, and in determining the range in concentration of a specific nutrient in which it is not a limiting factor in growth to a particular plant (3,4,6, 12). 3 It has also been shown that, as a rule, if a given plant is able to maintain a high concentration of nutrients in its conducting tissue, there can be little doubt that the soil has supplied the nutrient requirements of the plant for those particular elements.The physiological reactions of the tobacco plant are essentially governed by such factors as rainfall and its distribution, temperature, soil conditions, and the supply of available nutrients present in the soil. In the past, a considerable part of the research carried out in connection with the production of flue-cured tobacco has dealt with such factors as the amounts, ratios, and rates of application of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, chlorine, sulfur, and boron. However, few attempts have been made to determine when the tobacco used plant nutrients, and how much of the individual nutrients it used during certain periods of growth.A study was made in 1939 and 1940 at the Tobacco Experiment Station, Chatham, Va., to determine (a) the effects of different forms of nitrogen on nitrogen absorption; (b) the effect of split applications of nitrogen and of potash, as well as fertilizer placement, on nutrient absorption; (c) the effect of different sources of magnesia on magnesia absorption; and (d) at what stage or stages during plant growth maximum absorption of nutrients occurs. The results of this study are herein reported. MATERIALS AND METHODSYellow Mammoth tobacco was grown on Granville sandy loam soil. Nine treatments were used in duplicate on r I 40 acre plots. Although there were variations in time of application and in source of nitrogen and magnesium, the total application of fertilizer on each plot was equivalent to 900 pounds of a 3-ro-6 fertilizer per acre. This application, in addition to the 27 pounds of nitrogen, 90 pounds of phosphoric acid and 54 pounds of potash, supplied 90 pounds each of calcium (CaO) and sulfur (SO,) and r8 pounds each of magnesia (MgO) and chlorine.Phosphoric acid was derived from 20% superphosphate and potash from the

Sugar Movement to Roots, Mineral Uptake, and the Growth Cycle of the Cotton Plant

“…Relationships that seem to be quite direct have been reported likewise by COCHRAN (7) between depressed mineral accumulation and fruiting in pimiento and by CAROLUS (6) with the formation of tubers by potatoes. A decline in mineral uptake with advance in age has been found in tobacco by GRIZZARD, DAVIES, anid KANGAS (14). ANDERSON, SWANBACK, and STREET (1) have assigned the loss of nitrogen and potassium from the leaves of topped tobacco plants to translocation to the suckers.…”

Factors Affecting the Development of Flue‐Cured Tobacco Grown in Artificial Environments. III. Morphological Behavior of Leaves in Simulated Temperature, Light‐Duration, and Nutrition Progressions During Growth1

“…Conversely, commericial production of tobacco is based on high levels of available nutrients during early plant growth and rapidly d\minishing levels during later growth as they are depleted by plant uptake. The latter practice effects rapid nitrogen and potassium accumulation rates during early growth followed by declining rates during later growth (4,8,9,13). This characteristic uptake-pattern fo'r nitrogen is not achieved in greenhouse tobacco by regular applications of a single, balanced nutrient solution (14).…”

The Effectiveness of Various Sources of Nitrogen in the Production of Flue‐cured Tobacco1

“…Grizzard and others ( 4) in Virginia reported results of a 2-year study in which the nitrogen was derived from mixtures of mineral sources including urea, ammonium sulfate and sodium nitrate and from a mixture containing one-third of the nitrogen from organic materials (fish scrap, process tankage, cottonseed meal), one-third from ammonium sulfate, and one-third from sodium nitrate. The treatments were in duplicate on 1/ 40-acre plots and the authors concluded that the differences existing among these treatments were of doubtful significance.…”