The response of flue‐cured tobacco and fertility status of a sandy loam soil to Mg, P, and Zn fertilization

Abstract

Flue‐cured tobacco was grown for two years in a Pugwash sandy loam near Truro, Nova Scotia. Two different rates of P, Mg and Zn fertilizers, and combinations thereof, were applied to the soil to determine the response in tobacco growth, leaf nutrient content, and soil fertility. Fertilizer treatments used were 87 and 174 kg P₂O₅/ha, 35 and 70 kg Mg/ha, and 5 and 10 kg Zn/ha. All fertilizer treatment combinations increased yield compared with a control; however, of all the combinations, only the 10 kg Zn treatment in 1983 increased tobacco tissue concentration. After two years, only soil NH₄OAC‐extractable K₂O and EDTA‐extractable Zn were affected by any of the treatments. Of six extractants evaluated for their ability to relate extractable soil Zn with tissue Zn, EDTA, DTPA‐TEA, Mehlich I, and 0.1 M HCl produced similar significant correlation coefficients; NH₄OAC (pH 4.8 and pH7)‐extractable Zn did not correlate well with tissue Zn.