Burley tobacco growers face a
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  NICOTINE PROBLEM .
, A A Statement by the Agronomy
` Department of the Kentucky
Agricultural Experiment Station
Since \c\”orld \\'ar Il the total annual production of as they would like to use.
‘ burley tobacco has gradually increased. Despite a re- Until the last two or three years, more and more _
· duction of 10 percent in allotted acreage in 1953 and cigarettes were used each year by the American public.
.· 8 percent in 19541, production in 1954 was the highest With this growing demand, the larger and larger crops
A ever—about ($67,000,000 pounds. At the same time, the of burley tobacco could be used eventually, and prices
average percentage of nicotine in the burley crop held up well, as they were supported by the govern-
has gradually increased, from a desirable average of ment price support program. Now that cigarette con- ,
around 2%.0 percent before \\’orld \~\’ar ll to averages sunrption has gone down, however, the surplus sup-
· of around -1.5 percent in recent crops—or even, in dry plies are becoming burdensome. This past marketing
years, as high as 6.0 percent. season, 22l,000,000 pounds of burley tobacco went to
· Cigarette manufacturers try to keep the nicotine the tobacco pools—were placed under government
(j()]][Q]][ Qi, [h€i]` (fig}{]`€[[€$ }l[ ]`|O[ ()\'€]`   p€]`Q€]'][_ loans at the Support. Price. rI`hiS YVHS 1I10]`€ than t.‘Vi(i€
·· This they have clone by using a blend of burley with as much -as ever before. At the same time, manu-
other tobaccos, largely flue-cured, which are lower ih facturers bought almost as much as usual. But they
(*9 nicotine content than burley. But in the past two tried to buy tobacco that was lower in nicotine than
" years the average nicotine content of the flue—cured the average.
) crops also has been high. This makes it harder for
manufacturers to use as much burley in their cigarettes
4 Why hos nicotine content increased?
4 Nicotine content or tobacco crops has bccrr increasing grad. g_Hlgl‘€‘ al 6***89 'l"O*#“€ wmemg Ol l>¤1_l§>’ '¤0lf·¤_<{0
` ually, but on the auction floor it is impossible to tell merely Uyops Iii {acm yeiu? hils been the msuh Ol Lhdnges m
A from looking at the tobacco and feeling of it whether it is WAYS Ol glowing bullgw _ V
lo"-01-high hl hicmihg The burley tobacco industry rn kentucky was de-
V __ _  I ‘ velopecl on the basis of grass—tobacco rotations. Burley
{ - .¥·#_g_,,i     i... _   _T ’ . at-   I was grown for one or, at the most, for two years on
I - _     __ V i``ii° ° X _ cw, . `\_   land that had been in sod for several years. Not much
5     K    A ·»‘ .._= in { A     K ti fertilizer was used; until after \~Vorlcl \Var l growers
•  A lsgoi w ”~>~‘"f » " ,   if   still commonly thought that fertilizers “'burned" to-
4 _ r __' _' ..;-M,       . A ‘_,,;_ A __;_ .:__;_.. ,   bacco. Average yields were around 750 to 800 pounds
  -- .·Q’ i i» _ __`   ` ‘   per acre.
·—·   .; » . -N Wei;  “`“i;__·»‘»·*¥’·’~`ll§**=‘*§·•~¤.,,y _ _— After \\'orld \\'ar l, the use of fertilizers gradually
..  _ ’_“'° TQ; »? "     — xr, increased and average yields of burley also increased.
I,    — ~  I _, W _¢_5_·-——:.j`·_g_é“_; `jra , `\,Qi·-gig Production was still largely on land broken out of sod,
·` _   Nc 4 T \`—\._ M` *`*' ·      ·I because until the introduction of Ky I0 in 1930 there
. ls ~,`;- "   A   "¥,§j.s`f’  i‘A·  `   was no really good variety of burley resistant to black
  .` _ * H   ·_ ,.§  .,  root rot, a very destructive soil-carriecl disease. \\’here
*1;   . ;` "Ih•~i*"*·;,      VR"   yields of burley were from about l,200 pounds to
i M  ~.   ' ·· ‘  ” V ` ·x‘i~t` · {Q     2 ‘ l l 000 or l 800 rounds ner acre the cualitv
tr. {I _`=.,,   .   gay  ·   "}¢•~ `_  uounc , . I I I , I I
l ' ~ $,,_*__ - Q __   ‘ M‘··— _$;  ·, r. ._`}.*;_ rl  §€‘ll€l`2lll}` was l)€sl. ·l\early always the tobacco was
        yr     nitrogen-starvecl at ttmelof topypmg or rshortly after,
I,         ‘  and the crop rtpened (Il1l(`l(l}`·2lllCl` l0I)I)1tlg. lxrcotme
__ ‘ _ [ge, Q Qi yg,p*);V.,,•#* r * content was moderate except in very dry seasons.
  W   ._ ~ ‘ · ‘ ._ r' This was the kind of tobacco which made a good
4 ‘       I ' ._ A " I   i reputation for burley and led to the later very great
_—_    _ 1 l` __ . {_;   _.   g I   expansion of the crop.
f   ' . i ,   ‘ '   ` · · .\nother factor in the (llllllily upon which the repu-
'l Ac;ruc:u1;ru1tA1. Exrugnrsrrcxtr Strrarrox 3
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