CONSERVATION PRACTICES FOR TOBACCO LAXDS 5 



Soils 



Soil type is a dominant factor in the quality of tobacco. Garner 

 (9) has pointed out that although the tobacco plant can be grown 

 under a wide range of soil and climatic conditions, the production of 

 each commercial type is definitely localized, owing primarily to the 

 influences of climate and soil on the properties of the finished leaf. 

 In the flue-cured and Maryland tobacco belts, the production of a 

 normal yield of high-quality tobacco requires well-drained soils that 

 are light in texture. In these belts tobacco crop yields are also de- 

 pendent upon the quality and depth of topsoil. Favorable growth 

 conditions require a topsoil of at least 6 to 8 inches depth. 



These tobacco soils are naturally low in organic matter and their 

 physical properties are such that they erode easily during intense 

 summer rains. The character of erosion occurring on these tobacco 

 soils is shown in figure 2. Observations on erosion in progress, such 

 as represented in these pictures, may be made at almost any place in 

 the flue-cured and Maryland tobacco belts. 



The shallow phases of some of these sloping tobacco soils have slowly 

 permeable subsoils near the surface (fig. 3). This condition limits 

 the amount of rainfall that may be taken into the soil and increases 

 the runoff and erosion hazard. 



Figure 3. — This relatively flat tobacco field has been damaged by excess runoff 

 due to slowly permeable subsoil. 



