Monitoring the chlorine contents in tobacco leaves and tobacco-planting soils of Baise City, Guangxi

[Objective]The soil and tobacco leaf samples were collected from tobacco-planting counties in Baise City, Guangxi to study the chlorine (Cl) contents in tobacco-planting soils and tobacco leaves. in order to provide references for guidance of ecologically-balanced fertilization and development of high-quality and special tobacco leaves.[Method]Technology of Global Position System (GPS) and soil chemical analysis methods were used to analyze the Cl content in soils (20 cm depth), collected before the application of base fertilizer and transplantation. The flue cured tobacco leaves (C3F) were collected from the tobacco-planting counties for determination of Cl content. Further, the excess and deficiency of Cl content in tobacco leaves were also evaluated. [Result]The Cl contents in tobacco-planting soils were relatively low with an average of 19.80 mg/kg. The Cl contents of 75% soil samples from all tobacco-planting counties were found in the range of 10-30 mg/kg. The order of Cl content in different soil types was as follows: red soilyellow soilpaddy soillime soil. The Cl content in tobacco leaves was found to be low with an average of 0.10% and 30% degree of variation,and that collected from most of the tobacco-planting counties was found to be deficient. The Cl content of 90% of tobacco leaf samples collected from Longlin, Tianlin, Xilin and Leye County was deficient. [Conclusion]The results revealed that the soils of Baise City were deficient in Cl content and not suitable for the production of high-quality flue-cured tobacco. In order to improve the tobacco quality and economic benefits, application of chlorine-containing fertilizers must be recommended for tobacco growing areas of Baise City.