Agronomy journal, Vol. 80 No. 5, 2018.
Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.33128/ag.80.5.1
EFFECT OF RIPENESS AND RELATED GROWING PRACTICES ON VIRGINIA TOBACCO I. YIELD, PRICE AND PETIOLE SAP NITRATE CONTENT AS AN INDICATOR OF LEAF RIPENESS FOR HARVEST
Miroslav Čavlek
orcid.org/0000-0001-8242-4752
; Duhanski institut Zagreb d.o.o., Svetošimunska 25, Zagreb, Hrvatska
Kristina Gršić
; Hrvatska agencija za poljoprivredu i hranu, Zagreb, Hrvatska
Abstract
The investigation aiming to determine the effect of topping heights (17 and 20 leaves for harvesting), harvesting methods (7, 4 and 3 harvests) and ripeness (unripe, ripe and overripe) on yield, price and petiole sap nitrate content at harvesting time, was carried out in 2006 and 2008. A split-split plot design with four replications was applied. Higher yields in top segment were achieved with higher topping, and converse in two lower segments. The effect of the harvest method on the average values of the investigated properties was small. Leaf ripeness at harvesting in 2006, in five out of six segments, had no impact on yields. In 2008 the highest yields in the top three segments were achieved by the harvest of ripe leaves. The highest average prices in the second and third segments were realized by harvesting ripe leaves and in the higher segments overripe leaves. Different ripe leaves at harvesting time in some segments produced different results depending on height of topping and method of harvesting. Petiole sap nitrate content at harvest when equal or higher yields and prices were achieved decreased by delaying harvesting and, with some exceptions, from lower to higher segments. However, based on the results of this research it was not possible to determine the critical nitrate content ranges that could be used to estimatia the ripeness of tobacco leaf for harvesting
Keywords
virginia tobacco; topping height; method of harvest; yield; price; petiole sap nitrate content at harvest
Hrčak ID:
220091
URI
Publication date:
2.5.2019.
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