A Study of Irrigation, Fertigation and Plasticulture in Burley Tobacco Production with a Focus on Yield, GRI and TSNA Concentration

Abstract

. A three-year, two site study was used to evaluate the benefits in yield, quality and tobacco specific nitrosamines (TSNA) reduction obtained from drip irrigation of burley (TN 90) tobacco. The sites were located at Greeneville, TN (Lindside silt loam) and Springfield, TN (Dickson silt loam) during the years 2005 2007. Within this three year span, precipitation was near ideal in one crop season (2006 Greeneville), and very dry in another (Springfield 2007), with 2005 being about average for each site. While an average precipitation season is considered sufficient in volume to meet plant water demand, irrigation displayed the potential to increase yields during dry years, as well as address the importance of precipitation timing during critical growth stages to attain high quality low TSNA leaf during average precipitation years. Drip irrigation was evaluated using three protocols. The first used irrigation to supplement precipitation to achieve a minimum of 1 inch of water applied per week. The second followed the same irrigation protocol, but used drip-tape to make split liquid urea fertigation applications. The third treatment used the same fertigation protocol, but included the use of a plastic mulch. Each protocol included a reduced nitrogen (N) rate to determine if optimized soil moisture increased plant nutrient uptake and utilization efficiency.

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