The Effect of Planting Density on Growth, Development, Yield and Quality of Cigar Tobacco in Danjiangkou, Hubei

In order to explore the effects of different planting densities on the growth, development, yield and quality of cigar tobacco in the Danjiangkou tobacco-growing area of Hubei Province, this study used the wrapper variety Chuxue 26 (CX-26) and the filler variety Chuxue 14 (CX-14) as experimental materials, and set up six and five planting density treatments respectively. Agronomic traits, dry weight, appearance quality, chemical components, yield and value were systematically measured. The results showed that with the decrease of planting density, the plant height, maximum leaf area, stem-leaf angle and dry weight of the two cultivars were significantly increased. Chemical components also changed significantly, while yield decreased accordingly. For CX-26, at a density of 100 cm×40 cm, the wrapper proportion was 19.94%, and it had better appearance quality and the highest output value. The filler leaf proportion of CX-14 was the highest at 120 cm×55 cm, whereas the combination of appearance quality, yield and output value performed best at 110 cm×40 cm. In conclusion, in the Danjiangkou tobacco-growing area of Hubei Province, adopting a planting density of 100 cm×40 cm for CX-26 and 110 cm×40 cm for CX-14 is conducive to achieving a balance between the yield and quality of cigar tobacco leaves and improving the economic benefits.