The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1905-06-23

FERTILIzING TOBACCO IN CENTRAL STATES.
There are many thousands of acres of
tobacco land in Ohio Kentucky, Indiana
and Wisconsin on which commercial fer
tilizers have never been used, but from
careful observation it appears that there
are but few of those acres which would
not proftably respond to an application
of plant food. In discussing this sub
ject let US first note some of the charac-
teristics of this crop. Tobacco is rank
rapid growing and heavy feeding plant
and requires liberal supplies OF plant
food. It is crop which requires care
full amounts and kinds of fertilizers ap-
piled because the fertilization exercises
an influence upon both the yield and
quality of the crop. It requires the ele-
ments of plant food in different proper
tions than most crops, since we learn
that a crop yielding 1000 pounds OF leaf
per acre will contain in round numbers
ST pounds of nitrogen, 9 of phosphoric
acid and S5 OF potash. This does not in
clude the PLAN food taken up by the
whole plant, for while the leaf is the OBJ
ject. Sf tobacco growing, the leaf cannot
be grown without stalks, roots, ETC..
Therefore. in buying fertilizer we should
remember that the demands of the crop
for phosphoric acid are small, for nitro
gen they are large, but the greatest de-
mand is for potash in fact greater than
that of any other cultivated plant 1t is
also remembered that much of the to-
bacco lands are sandy or limestone,
which soils are generally deficient in the
two elements most needed. The Ken
lucky Experiment station has made
some exhaustive experiments and the
formula they recommend is 3 per cent
nitrogen, per cent phosphoric acid and
10 per cent potash. On blue grass land
the percentage of phosphoric acid might
be reduced to 6 per cent since these soils
are rich in PHOSPHORUS, good percent
age of which is available. The Wiscon-
sin lands are not SO rich in PHOSPHORUS
and the 3 $40 mixture should be used in
the tobacco section of that state. An
other point of great Importance in the
fertilizing of tobacco is the influence of
the constituents applied on the market
able quality of the product as for GER
tain purposes, especially for the manu-
facture of cigars. The tobacco must
possess peculiar characteristics in order
to bring the highest price in the market.
Clorine or salt has deleterous effect on
the quality of the leaf, therefore, when
potash is used it should be derived from
high grade sulphate of potash since it is
free from clorine.
The science of tobacco fertilization is
much further advanced in the Connecti-
cut valley than in any other tobacco dis
trict, and there the use of fertilizers Is
most general and the returns are for
that reason the heaviest. 1t is more the
rule than the exception in that state to
apply 2,COO to 5000 pounds of high grade
fertilizer per acre. In Kentucky, Ohio
and Wisconsin where the soil is natural
ly richer, and where the farms are large
enough to allow liberal system of crop
rotation, such amounts are probably not
needed, but in these middle states at
least from 500 to 1000 pounds of the
mixture previously mentioned should be
used. There is many tobacco grower
in those states who will hoot at the sug-
gestion of using such an amount of high
grade fertilizer on seemingly rich soils,
but each one of them will see that when
crop removes such large amounts of
plant food continuous cropping will in
time exhaust the most fertile soil and it
is he who maintains the fertility of his
soils who produces the greatest yields
and grows the quality that tops the mar
ket
AS to the application, broadcasting is
the method from which the best results
will be secured. True it requires little
more per acre but such a method means
continuous feeding. better root growth
which gives the plant better ancorage
and better drouth resisting properties;
it also shows that what plant food is not
utilized by one crop remains to fertilize
the following crop, and if broadcasted
the after fertilization is general and not
in spots as when applied in or near the
hill. This broadcasting can be done by
a wheat drill with fertilizer attach
ment with the regular fertilizer drill,
with an endgate seeder or by hand and
covered with light harrow. When pos
sible, it is good practice to apply the
fertilizer two or three weeks before the
plants are set. D. DUNCAN,
Selma, Ind