COMPOSITION AND QUALITY OF PENNSYLVANIA CIGAR-LEAF TOBACCO AS RELATED TO FERTILIZER TREATMENT

Abstract

Chemical analyses of cured tobacco for lime (CaO), magnesia (MgO), potash (K20) and sulphuric acid (S03) did not show any great change in composition when K2SO4 was applied at 200, 400, 600 lbs. per acre and where this material was replaced by 310 lbs. of K2CO3 or omitted when manure was applied at the rate of 10 tons per acre. Neither was there any great difference in composition when these fertilizer materials were increased and manure omitted. Fermentation apparently increased the amounts of soluble over insoluble ash as well as changing the carbohydrate/nitrogen ratio more than any of the several fertilizer treatments. The quality of the cigars made up from tobacco from the different treatments did not show any great difference except where the potash was omitted from the fertilizer it was given, according to the method of scoring, a lower rating.