Grants and Contracts Details
Description
The Council for Burley Tobacco funded this project in 2015; we are applying for a second year of
funding because we would like to repeat it in 2016 so that we have two years of data. The 2015
crop is currently curing, so we do not yet have any data. An interim report was submitted in
October.
The goal of this study is to test whether spraying burley tobacco with the synthetic cytokinin
benzyladenine is an efficient, cost-effective method for lowering TSNAs. Cytokinins increase
nitrogen utilization and the antioxidative capacity of the plant, and can delay senescence. We
hypothesize that short cytokinin treatments alter the nitrogen metabolism and cellular
antioxidative capacity, possibly lowering TSNA accumulation. Results from a pilot study were
promising: we found that the cytokinin application indeed lowered TSNA levels. We also found
that the cytokinin concentration used does not delay senescence but instead promotes the
senescence process, a potentially beneficial effect for the curing of tobacco leaves. This suggests
that higher cytokinin concentrations could be used without causing any senescence delays. Now
that we have proof of concept, we are planning tests to establish the most suitable application.
This year, we propose to increase the cytokinin concentration to test whether this causes an even
stronger suppression of TSNA formation without adversely affecting curing. If we can find an
effective spray treatment, this will be the cheapest, simplest and most reliable way to reduce
TSNAs.
Status | Finished |
---|---|
Effective start/end date | 2/1/16 → 3/31/17 |
Funding
- Council for Burley Tobacco: $6,000.00
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