Baoshan is a city in the southwest of China. Tempered by the low latitude and moderate elevation, Baoshan has a mild subtropical highland climate with short, mild, dry winters, and warm, rainy summers. Baoshan is a tobacco growth region for flue-cured tobacco.

The following study investigates the influence of climate factors on the development of aroma compounds in flue-cured tobacco.

102 samples were taken from five different geographical areas (Changning, Longyang, Tengchong, Longling, Shidian) and profiled by using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) coupled with multivariate data analyses.

Partial least-squares-discrimination analysis (PLS-DA) showed that samples from five regions could be subdivided into three groups of aroma compounds of flue-cured tobacco, which is in agreement with a cluster analysis of climate and geographical factors. 24 aroma compounds were screened to evaluate possible relationships with climatic factors by comparing the value of variable importance in the projection (VIP).

The amount of degradation products of lutein and ß-carotenoids increased with total sun exposure time and total rainfall. PLS-DA could provide potential indicator aroma compounds which showed significant relationships to climate and geographical factors. This method can provide important information on tobacco plants.