OPPORTUNITIES FOR PRODUCING EARLY, HEALTHY TOBACCO SEEDLINGS USING MICROIRRIGATION

Abstract

For successful tobacco production, the most important prerequisite is to first obtain healthy, high-quality, and timely produced tobacco seedlings. In our country, the traditional method is still used, involving seedling production in cold beds covered with polyethylene fabric in the form of a tunnel. Proper care during seedling cultivation is essential and includes several timely and thoroughly performed agrotechnical practices, among which irrigation is a key factor. With this in mind, our goal was to investigate whether different irrigation methods influence the possibility of obtaining early-produced, healthy tobacco seedlings. For this purpose, three different irrigation methods were tested: variant one - watering with a watering can, variant two - watering with sprinklers and variant three - micro-sprinkler irrigation. Based on the two-year research, the results confirmed that the third variant - micro-sprinkler irrigation - enabled the production of healthy tobacco seedlings 5-10 days earlier compared to the control. Additionally, the number of seedlings suitable for transplanting was higher in this variant, reaching 2122/m², compared to 1862/m² in the control.