China: Tobacco Subcompany Develops Technology for Reducing Fertilizer Use

Source from:  TobaccoChina Online 11/14/2011

Dali Prefecture Subcompany of Yunnan Provincial Tobacco Corporation in southwest China's tobacco-producing Yunnan Province, in cooperation with the Tobacco Research Institute of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and other institutions, has developed a new technology for reducing the use of chemical fertilizer in tobacco production by 30 percent to 50 percent. The new technology has been proven successful in practical application in demonstrative production of tobacco in Midu, Nanjian, Weishan and Eryuan Counties in Dali Prefecture. The use of this new technology in tobacco production will lead to reduction in investment by tobacco growers, promotion of efficiency in tobacco growing, improvement of the quality of leaf tobacco, improvement of soil of tobacco fields, reduction of environmental pollution, and promotion of sustainable development in tobacco production. Since 2008, Dali Prefecture Tobacco Subcompany has been in cooperation with the Tobacco Research Institute of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences in jointly conducting technological research for "reducing the use of chemical fertilizer and realizing reduction of costs, increase of efficiency and improvement of quality in leaf tobacco production", under guidance of the principle of developing a cyclic economy and resource conservation, solving hard technological problems in practice with painstaking efforts. In conducting the research, the scientific researchers focused their efforts on raising the efficiency of fertilizer use, and on comprehensive application of such technological means as slow release of fertilizer, activation of tropic factors, coating of biomembrane and induction of microbial resistance. After painstaking efforts over the past four years, they have eventually succeeded in developing the new technology for reducing the use of chemical fertilizer in tobacco production by 30 percent to 50 percent. Data collected from many points of test in 2010-2011 prove that the application of this new technology in practice will lead to reduction of investment in fertilizer at a rate pf 12 yuan per mu (1.9 U.S. dollars per 0.067 hectare), and increase of income at a rate of 53.66 yuan per mu (8.4 U.S. dollars per 0.067 hectare), with the proportion of higher grade leaf tobacco going up, with the chemical composition in leaf tobacco turning better coordinated, with the quality of leaf tobacco obviously improved, and with industrial usability of leaf tobacco obviously increased. Therefore, practical application of this new technology will be of great significance to both leaf tobacco production and maintenance of the ecological system of society. Enditem