Abstract:

To explore the influence of remained leaves on the yield and quality of tobacco leaves in Tengchong, field experiments were conducted to analyze the effects of different numbers of remained leaves on the agronomic traits, economic traits, physical characteristics, chemical composition, appearance and sensory property of flue-cured tobacco. The results showed that with the decreasing number of remained leaves, the plant height of flue-cured tobacco decreased, the length and width of the waist and top leaves increased, and the yield and output value of tobacco showed a decreasing trend. When the number of remained leaves decreased from 22 to 16, the single leaf weight, thickness, density, and filling power of C2F leaves increased significantly, and the percentage stem decreased significantly. The color and maturity scores of C2F leaves were relatively high when the remained leaves were 19, and the scores of B1F body, oil, and color intensity were relatively high when the remained leaves were 22, but there was no significant difference in the total scores of visual appearance among different treatments. As the number of remained leaves decreased, the nicotine content gradually increased, and the sugar/ nicotine ratio gradually decreased. Compared with other treatments, the tobacco leaf aroma quality, aroma amount, miscellaneous, irritation and aftertaste were relatively low when the remained leaves were 16. According to the comprehensive quality of flue-cured tobacco, the suitable numbers of remained leaves in Tengchong are 22 and 19 with 3 bottom leaves removed.

Key words: flue-cured tobacco, remained leaves, economic trait, tobacco leaf quality, ‘K326’