Fertilization of Tobacco

Sidedress YaraLiva™ Tropicote™ (15.5-0-0-19Ca) or CN-9® liquid (9-0-0-11Ca) at a rate to supply 1/3 to 1/2 of the total N required for the crop as determined by the crop history of the field and local conditions.

Apply sidedressing at the above rate in one applications 3-4 weeks after transplanting. Growers have had success with split sidedress applications of YaraLiva products – ½ the side dress N at 3-4 weeks and ½ at 6-7 weeks after transplanting.

Another option recently made available is YaraLiva™ UCAN-17, the liquid fertilizer that brings high nitrate nitrogen and the cost efficiency that most tobacco growers need nowadays.

Flue-Cured
The most important time of nitrogen uptake by flue-cured tobacco is the four-to-seven week period after transplanting. To satisfy this requirement, tobacco specialists and successful growers recommend sidedress nitrogen be applied within 14 days and not longer than 30 days after transplanting.

It has become common practice in flue-cured tobacco regions of the United States to apply one-quarter one-half the total N in the preplant NPK mixed fertilizer and the remainder as a nitrate sidedresser. Sidedress nitrogen should contain at least 50% nitrate. University tests have shown significant increases in yield and quality where sidedressed nitrogen contained contained up to 100% nitrate.

Burley
In burley tobacco, the peak demand period for nitrogen (as well as calcium, magnesium, and potassium) occurs 40-50 days after transplanting. Thus, you need to raise level of nutrients during the last half of the growing season. During this high-demand period, growers are using YaraLiva™ calcium nitrate fertilizers to supply sufficient nitrate nitrogen and water-soluble calcium. The burley tobacco grower can then apply one-half to three-quarters of the total nitrogen demand in the preplant NPK mixed fertilizer. At sidedress, the remaining, nitrogen is applied as YaraLiva™ Tropicote™  four to six weeks after transplanting. Some growers apply two sidedressers, which may closely fit the fertility program to crop needs.