TiiJi Bulletin. 55 



THE FEBTILIZATION OF TOBACCO. 



As to the fcrlilization of lolinc-co, 1 will Jiisl say I hat, as there are so many 

 different kiiuls of soil and ilifforont types of tohaeco heiiii,' ;:r()\vn upon them, 

 I cannot give any delinite rules as to what kind of fertilizer should be used 

 or liow it should he applied ; for what would bo good for one farmer's soil 

 and tobacco might not do so well for anotlier man's farm and type of tobacco. 

 So I will just say that the kind of fertilizer, or rather the per cent of the 

 different plant-food elements in the fertilizer, and tlie sources from which 

 these elements are dcn-ived are to be determined in great measure by the type 

 or kind of tobacco you wish to grow, and by the kind of soil it is to be 

 grown ui)on. Also, we should take into consideration the kind of crop which 

 immodialoly precedes the tobacco crop. If the tobacco crop follows a crop 

 which feeds or draws v(>ry heavily on any one or more of the plant-food ele- 

 ments in the soil, then it should have h(>avier ajjplications of these particular 

 elements tha.n if it follows a crop which takes less of these elements out of 

 the land. On the other hand, in the case of leguminous crops, the greater the 

 quantity of nitrogen they add to the soil the lower may be the per cent of 

 nitrogen in the fertilizer intended for the tobacco which follows them. Sandy 

 soils need more potash for tobacco than clay soils. The thick, dark, heavy 

 types of tobacco need more nitrogen, especially organic nitrogen, than is re- 

 quired for the bright or lighter types. For the bright types grown up in our 

 country, I get good results by using a mixture composefl of acid phosphate, 

 pure dried blood, nitrate of soda and high-grade sulphate of potash, mixed 

 in such, proportions as to analyze about seven per cent phosphoric acid, five 

 per cent nitrogen and eleven per cent potash. This is a good mixture for 

 tobacco, as the nitrate of soda gives the young plants a quick start, while the 

 nitrogen in the blood is being made ready for their use later on. In all mix- 

 tures for tobacco I think it is best to supply the nitrogen in at least two 

 different forms, in the form of a nitrate, as nitrate of soda or nitrate of pot- 

 ash, and also in some one of the organic or slower-acting forms, as dried 

 blood, cotton-seed meal, or something of the kind. As the young tobacco 

 plants need to be started off to growing early and rapidly, and as they extend 

 their growth over a considerable length of time, the organic or slow-acting 

 forms of nitrogen would not start them quickly enough ; while, on the other 

 hand, the nitrates would give them a quick start, but w^ould be likely to leach 

 or wash out of the laud to some extent before the tobacco is properly ma- 

 tured. For these reasons it is best to combine the two forms of nitrogen in 

 all our mixtures for tobacco ; though, if we could get the time to make sev- 

 eral small applications of nitrogen to our tobacco w^hile it is growing, possibly 

 we might get fairly good results by using the nitrate without any of the 

 slower-acting forms. But I think it is better to combine the two forms, as by 

 so doing the crop is more sure to be properly nourished until it is matured. 

 Then, too, by using the organic forms of nitrogen we put some little amount 

 of humus into the soil : and you know^ something of the importance of humus. 

 It enables the land to hold more water, and thus keeps all the plant-food ele- 

 ments in a more solul)le condition, so the plants can take them up. So we see 

 that the filling of the soil with humus is really a part of the proper fertiliza- 

 tion of our tobacco ; for fertilizers, and especially mineral fertilizers, do not 

 give their best results without it. Then let me urge you tobacco farmers to 

 go to work and get your tobacco lands filled with humus as soon as you can. 

 In my experience and practice, I have learned of no quicker and easier way 

 to fill the land with humus-forming matter than by sowing cow-peas and rye 

 and working the dead pea-vines and rye into the land. If you will do this, 

 you will not only be fertilizing your land and crops by bringing the plant 

 food already in the soil into more available forms, but you will be giving them 

 additional supplies of nitrogen from the air much more cheaply than you can 

 buy it from fertilizer dealers. 



In making mixtures for my tobacco. I supply the potash by using high-grade 

 sulphate of potash, or else nitrate of potash ; for the quick-acting forms of 

 nitrogen, I use either nitrate of soda or potassium nitrate: for the organic 

 or slow-acting forms of nitrogen I think pure dried blood and cotton-seed 

 meal are as good as any. 



