Certain cultural practices affect the concentration of duvatrienediols (α. and β-4,8,13-duvatriene-1,3-diols) in flue-cured tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) leaves. Suckers (axillary buds) are removed manually or chemically to enhance overall tobacco yield and quality. Relative to manually suckered tobacco. MH treated tobacco exhibits altered leaf chemistry and decreased overall leaf quality. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of the degree and method of sucker control on the concentration of duvatrienediols in green tobacco leaves, and their relationship to yield and quality of the cured product.

During harvest of ripe leaves from lower, middle, and upper stalk positions in 1989 and 1990, leaf disks were taken from flue-cured tobacco plants that had not been suckered, that were manually suckered, or that were chemically suckered. In both years, leaves at lower and middle stalk positions of not-suckered tobacco were significantly lower in concentrations of duvatrienediols, yields, and grade indexes relative to tobacco that had received close sucker control. At upper stalk positions, not-suckered tobacco had the highest concentrations of duvatrienedials and grade indexes, but yields remained consistently lower than in tobacco with close sucker control. In 1990 at lower and middle stalk positions, leaves from MH-treated plants were significantly lower in duvatrienediol concentrations than leaves from plants manually suckered to a high degree. Leaf yields increased at all stalk positions with the degree of sucker control, irrespective of the method of control employed. Overall, results suggested that a high degree of sucker control, whether manual or chemical, is important to consistently harvest tobacco that has high levels of duvatrienediols, yields, and quality.