Acta Agriculturae Zhejiangensis ›› 2026, Vol. 38 ›› Issue (3): 440-449.DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1004-1524.20241098

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Effects of combined foliar application of potassium fertilizer and rhamnolipid on oil content, quality and yield of tobacco leaves

MA Jingmin1(), YAN Dingwei2, LIU Xinyuan1, CHANG Jianbo1, HAN Zhenhua2, WEI Fengjie3,*(), JI Xiaoming2,*()   

  1. 1. Sanmenxia Tobacco Company of Henan Province, Sanmenxia 472000, Henan, China
    2. College of Tobacco, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China
    3. Henan Provincial Tobacco Company, Zhengzhou 450018, China
  • Received:2024-12-20 Online:2026-03-25 Published:2026-04-17
  • Contact: WEI Fengjie,JI Xiaoming

Abstract:

To investigate the effects of foliar spraying of potassium fertilizers mixed with rhamnolipid on tobacco leaf oil content, yield, and quality, with spraying clear water as the control (CK), six treatments were set up: T1, foliar spraying of 0.06 mol·L-1 K2HPO4; T2, foliar spraying of 0.06 mol·L-1 potassium fulvate; T3, foliar spraying of 120 mg·L-1 rhamnolipid; T4, foliar spraying of 0.06 mol·L-1 K2HPO4+120 mg·L-1 rhamnolipid; T5, foliar spraying of 0.06 mol·L-1 potassium fulvate+120 mg·L-1 rhamnolipid. The effects of each treatment on carbon and nitrogen metabolism enzyme activities, oil quality, neutral aroma components, yield, and quality of tobacco leaves were determined. The results showed that foliar spraying of potassium fertilizers promoted glandular hair development and increased tobacco leaf oil content, and the effect of mixed spraying with rhamnolipid was superior to spraying alone. Among them, mixed spraying of potassium fulvate and rhamnolipid yielded the best results. After spraying, tobacco leaf glandular heads were plump and well-developed, with enhanced secretion capacity. The content of glandular hair secretion and petroleum ether extract in cured tobacco leaves increased. Meanwhile, foliar spraying of potassium fertilizers coordinated carbon and nitrogen metabolism in tobacco leaves, with the mixed spraying of potassium fulvate and rhamnolipid showing the best effect. Its sucrose synthase activity increased by 21.85% compared with CK, while nitrate reductase activity decreased by 23.52% compared with CK. Additionally, this treatment coordinated the conventional chemical components of cured tobacco leaves and increased the content of neutral aroma components, with the total amount of neutral aroma components increasing by 43.27% compared with CK; the contents of total sugar, reducing sugar, and potassium in cured tobacco leaves increased by 3.96, 3.86, and 0.34 percentage points, respectively, compared with CK, while the contents of nicotine and total nitrogen decreased by 0.35 and 0.26 percentage points, respectively. Mixed foliar spraying of potassium fertilizers and rhamnolipid was more effective than spraying alone, with the combination of potassium fulvate and rhamnolipid yielding the best results. This study provides a basis for using mixed foliar spraying of potassium fertilizers and rhamnolipid to enhance tobacco leaf oil content, yield, and quality.

Key words: foliar potassium fertilizer, rhamnolipid, neutral aroma component, flue-cured tobacco, oil content

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