Relationships between Main Climatic Factors and Chemical Components of Flue-cured Tobacco Leaves in Enshi

The relationships between major climatic factors and chemical components of the middle tobacco leaves in Enshi tobacco area were investigated. The results showed that the average contents of reducing sugar and total sugar was 27.56% and 33.57%. The content of chlorine was relatively low, only 0.15%. The rest of chemical component contents were appropriate to high quality cigarette production. The contents of reducing sugar, total sugar, total alkaloids, total nitrogen and potassium were symmetrical, closed to normal distribution. The average temperature was basically in the suitable range during field growth period, the variation of annual rainfall was large and the hours of sunshine was adequate, the coefficient of variation was rainfall > hours of sunshine > average temperature. The correlations between main climatic factors and chemical components were significant. In a certain range, the increase of rainfall, hours of sunshine and accumulated temperature were favorable to the accumulation of total sugar, yet unfavorable to the accumulation of nitrogen compounds, in a certain range the increase of rainfall raised the content of chlorine; the influence degree of main climatic factors on the chemical components, the hours of sunshine was the largest, the second was rainfall, the average temperature and accumulated temperature were the weakest.