Industrial Crops and Products 67 (2015) 381–386

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Industrial Crops and Products

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Influence of mineral matter content on static burning rate of Virginia

tobacco from different production areas in Serbia
Vesna Radojičić a,∗ , Nermina Djulančić b , Marija Srbinoska c
a
University of Belgrade, Faculty of Agriculture, Belgrade, Serbia
b
University of Sarajevo, Faculty of Agriculture and Food Science, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
c
University St. Kliment Ohridski – Bitola, Scientific Tobacco Institute – Prilep, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia The

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The aim of this study was to determine the influence of particular element of the minerals complex
Received 27 September 2014 in Virginia tobacco, from different production areas, on value of static burning rate (SBR). Large leaf
Received in revised form 22 January 2015 tobacco, type Virginia from five production areas in Serbia during year 2013, was used as a research
Accepted 31 January 2015
material. Mineral content was determined by the atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Static burning
rate was determined by the device Free Burning Rate Meter.
Keywords:
Result: had confirmed that the most important factors for mineral matter content in tobacco leaves are
Mineral matter
soil pH, organic matter content in soil and vicinity of large industrial centers. A very strong positive
Virginia tobacco
Static burning rate
correlation between the content of Ca and Pb, a positive correlation of Mg and Na, and a strong negative
Heavy metals correlation of Cd and both SBR values has been found.
Virginia tobacco type grown at Senta area had the highest values for both speeds of combustion
(4.99 mm/min for SBRl and 69.97 mg/min for SBRm ). Virginia tobacco type grown at Sremska Mitrovica
area had the lowest values for both speeds of combustion (3.95 mm/min for SBRl and 49.11 mg/min for
SBRm ).
© 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction important role in tobacco metabolism during its growth (Kastori,

Tobacco is an industrial plant which occupies an important
place of agriculture in the Republic of Serbia. The total production
of tobacco amounted to 10,000 t, in 2013. Proportion of Virginia
tobacco in total production is about 80%. Proportion of this tobacco
is about 60% in cigarette blend (Radojičić, 2011). Given such a large
share of this tobacco in the composition, it is important to ana-
lyze its chemical composition, especially the amount and content
of the mineral complex and its influence on the burning, because
of it depends the production elements of tobacco smoke inhaled by
active and passive smokers.
Mineral matter is normally present in cultivated plants in quan-
tities that vary depending of plant variety, climate, and other factors
(Bell et al., 1988; King, 1989). Influence of fertilization and irriga-
tion on morphological and chemical characteristics of tobacco plant
has been well explored and documented (Sifola and Postiglione,
2002; Karaivazoglou et al., 2005; Sifola, 2005; Tsadilas et al., 2005;
Bilalis et al., 2009; Çakir and Çebi, 2010). Mineral matter plays an
∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +381 112615315x262; fax: +381 112193659.
E-mail address: mntabacco@agrif.bg.ac.rs (V. Radojičić).
1990; Veresoglou et al., 1987). They are particularly important for
the combustion process of tobacco, because they affect tempera-
ture and combustion conditions and ash characteristics (Lazarević
et al., 2012; Nikolić and Josić, 1997; Pyriki and Philipp, 1955). In
addition, it is not important only the total content of minerals, but
also their relationship (Radojicic et al., 2006). It should be noted that
some of these elements are in the group of heavy metals that may
be toxic and hazardous to health (Bell and Mulchi, 1990; Djukić
and Radojičić, 1998; Kaličanin and Velimirović, 2012). Based on
previous research it was found that tobacco contains the highest
percentage of calcium, potassium and magnesium and less phos-
phorus, sodium, silicon, iron, chlorine and sulfur (Rodgman and
Perffeti, 2009; Davis and Nielsen, 1999).
SBR is a technological characteristic of cigarettes. By definition,
the SBR represents the average of the burning rate at the beginning,
middle and end of a cigarette, and in the center and edge cigarettes,
since cigarettes do not burn the same speed along the whole of
its volume and length (Nikolić, 2004). SBR value depends on the
applied method of drying, on physical and chemical properties of
material, especially of the content of mineral matter, which indi-
cating differences in the combustion of the major types of tobacco
(Nikolić and Josić, 1997). Tobacco type, cut width, additives, and

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2015.01.076
0926-6690/© 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
382 V. Radojičić et al. / Industrial Crops and Products 67 (2015) 381–386
Table 1
The values of SBR of tobacco produced in Serbia
Type SBRl SBRm
of tobacco (mm/min) (mg/min)
Sun cured 4.2 45
Flue cured 5.3 61
Air cured 6.8 69
SBRl – the relationship of a unit of length of tobacco burned statically per unit of
time.
SBRm – the relationship of a unit of weight of tobacco burned statically per unit of
time.
moisture content are important tobacco variables influencing SBR.
The structure of the cigarette paper also affects the combustion
mechanisms that occur during both smouldering and puffing. This,
in turn, can significantly affect the smoke chemistry and other
performance characteristics of the cigarette. (Branton and Baker,
2002).
Table 1 shows the burning rate of three basic types of tobacco,
calculated on the data derived of the five-year research (Nikolić
and Josić, 1997). Burley is relatively fast burning, while Virginia lies
between the two. Many researchers have studied the effect of not
only the total mineral complex, than effect of its certain elements to
the static burning rate (Nikolić and Josić, 1997; Pyriki, Philipp, 1955;
Radojicic et al., 2006). It has been shown that potassium has posi-
tive influence on tobacco burning process; calcium and phosphorus
have no influence, while chlorine, sulfur, magnesium and nitro-
gen have negative influence on burning rates. Besides, for good and
proper combustion, it is important to their relationship. Based on
the results of previous research (Radojicic et al., 2006), it was found
that with the increase of K/Mg, increasing SBR. In this way K/Mg
ratio reduces the production of total particulate phase of tobacco
smoke, and thus the nicotine.
Thus, it can be concluded, the special significance of SBR is in the
fact that it directly affects the production on the production level of
cigarette smoke. The production of total particulate phase and thus
the harmful components of smoke are increased if the cigarette
burns slowly and incompletely (Artho, 1965; Nikolić et al., 1993).
2. Materials and methods
Large leaf tobacco, Virginia type, cultivar Heveshi-9, from
five production areas in Serbia during year 2013, was used as
research material. Each sample represented an average sample of
10 hectares of a typical production area Senta, Čoka, Šabac, Bajina
Bašta and Sremska Mitrovica. At tobacco seedling, transplanting
was applied at 80 cm line distance and 50 cm stalk distance as the
most suitable way for good furrow, good yield and quality of row
material. The NPK fertilizer in quantity ratio 50:80:140 kg/ha was
used at the experimental lots on all five production areas. 8 irri-
gation treatments were applied in the same period and with same
water quantity. The total quantities of water were 400 mm. Topping
is done in the earlier stage when around 30% of the plants were in
full flower.
The samples of cured tobacco leaf, after redrying process were
milled into a fine tobacco powder. Only the middle stalk position
leaves were used as the leaves of the best quality. The whole leaf
with the main stem was milled.
2.1. Climate conditions and characteristics of experimental soil
References of primary climate conditions have been obtained
in local meteorological stations. Because of results clearness, the
climatic parameters only for vegetation period are presented. Soil
samples were collected at 30 cm-depths, at three different places
within the experimental plots, air dried and sieved. They kept in
plastic bag for further analysis. Soils were characterized for com-
mon chemical properties according to Sparks et al. (1996).
2.2. Determination of mineral matter content
Mineral content was determined by the atomic-absorption
spectrophotometer AAS PerkinElmer 300 (Veličković and Vucelić-
Radović, 1993).
The solutions for the metal content determination were pre-
pared by a modified method applied for plant material destruction.
Tobacco powder was dissolved in nitric acid and heated at 80◦ C.
Heating was stopped after the separation of yellow dark steam was
finished. Then, we added perchloric acid and heating was done up
to 200◦ C. The process was finished after the color of the sample
disappeared. A blind test was prepared in the same way. Amount
of potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), sodium (Na), iron
(Fe), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd) i mercury (Hg)
in samples of tobacco was determined. Analysis was carried out in
triplicate. The values of different parameters were expressed as the
mean value.
2.3. Determination of static burning rate
For the determination of SBR, Free Burning Rate Meter MK.II
(Filtrona) was used. Free Burning Rate Meter measure a weight
loss of material (ISO 3612) and provides already calculated data
(ISO 3612, 1977). The printer list includes data for all three of
these characteristic values. For preparation of cigarettes, whole
leaf tobacco was cut (lamina and stem) by semi-automatic labo-
ratory cutter “Comas”, which was set to the width of cut of 0.8 mm.
From each sample of tobacco seven cigarettes were made (a total
of 5 × 7 = 35 cigarettes). All cigarettes are made from the same raw-
materials. Paper tube length element was 6 cm, length of the filter
was 2.5 cm and weighs of paper tube was 0.18 g. Cigarettes are
made by hand and conditioned on Borgwaldt Automatic Feeder
and Weighting Unit to 12.5% moisture (ISO 3402, 1999). Cigarettes
weighing 1070 mg ± 0.5 were used in experiment.
2.4. Statistical analyses
Data obtained from the experiments were analyzed and the
results were expressed as mean ± SD. Statistics were performed
using SPSS 17.0 software ANOVA with post hoc test analyses based
on Tukey was used to compare differences between samples (De
Coster, 2004).
3. Results and discussion
More details about climatic parameters and properties of exper-
imental soil are given in Tables 2 and 3, .
According to the data given in Table 2, the temperature con-
ditions and air humidity during growth and ripening of tobacco,
in the experimental production areas were within optimal range.
However, amounts of precipitation were different, both the total
and at the monthly level. The minimum amount of precipitation
was in the area of Šabac (188.7 mm) and the maximum in the area
of S. Mitrovica (242.5 mm) in the observed vegetation period. Con-
sidering that the same amount of NPK fertilizer, as the same amount
of water for irrigation was used, their influence on the quantity of
mineral matter was excluded in this investigation.
Results of investigations of mineral matter content in Virginia
tobacco leaves are shown in Table 4.
According to results shown in Table 4, it can be concluded that
there were differences in mineral content of tobacco leaves grown
at different areas. Analysis of variance showed that the location has
 V. Radojičić et al. / Industrial Crops and Products 67 (2015) 381–386 383

Table 2 Table 6
Monthly mean temperature, relative air humidity and average precipitation during SBRl of Virginia from different production areas (mm/min).
year 2013.
Origin Mean ± SD
Origin Month Average air Average Average relative
B.Bašta 4.26bc ± 0.30
temperature (◦ C) precipitation (mm) humidity (%)
Čoka 4.65ab ± 0.33
Senta V 16.6 42.2 77 S. Mitrovica 3.95c ± 0.54
VI 20.6 55.6 71 Senta 4.99a ± 0.50
VII 22.8 44.3 75 Šabac 4.42abc ± 0.38
VIII 23.2 71.1 75
Mean values with different letters in a column for each group are significantly from
Čoka V 16.2 38.1 78 one another (p < 0.05).
VI 20.8 58.4 73
VII 21.9 42.9 74
VIII 23.4 69.6 74
a significant impact on the composition of the mineral complex of
Šabac V 17.5 47.2 75 tobacco.
VI 21.5 60.4 76 The difference in amounts of precipitation during the vegeta-
VII 22.8 39.2 73
VIII 23.2 41.9 75
tion period (Table 2) can explained statistically significantly higher
quantity of K in tobacco from the Senta region and the smallest from
B. Bašta V 15.5 69.4 75
the Šabac region. On the other hand, tobacco from Senta, contained
VI 20.9 62.2 74
VII 22.5 29.7 69 the significantly smallest amount of Zn, which confirm existing of
VIII 23.7 64.7 72 very significant negative correlation (r = −80) between these two
elements (Table 5). Concentrations of Zn in samples examined were
S. Mitrovica V 17.1 68.2 76
VI 21.6 61.9 74 in agreement with the literature data (20–100 ppm) (Jaredić and
VII 22.7 70.9 73 Vučetić, 1977).
VIII 23.3 41.5 73 Tobacco leaves from Šabac had the highest amount of Na. It was
observed strong statistical negative correlation between Na and K
content (r = −0.65). Conversely, the amount of Na showed a sta-
Table 3
Characteristics of experimental soil. tistically dependence of the Fe contents (r = 0.81). Tobacco grown
at Čoka area contained significantly highest amount of Mg and Fe.
Origin Soil texturea pH Organic matter %
Content of Ca i Mg, between which is established a statistically sig-
Senta L 5.2c ± 0.1 2.2c ± 0.13 nificant positive correlation (r = 0,58), was significantly the lowest,
Čoka L 5.6b ± 0.1 2.3bc ± 0.05 in tobaccos originating from Sremska Mitrovica and Bajina Bašta.
Šabac SL 6.1a ± 0.13 2.4abc ± 0.10
Strong negative correlation (Table 8) between the amount of Ca
B.Bašta SCL 4.8d ± 0.5 2.6a ± 0.50
S.Mitrovica SL 4.5d ± 0.03 2.5ab ± 0.50 (r = −0.82), as well as the amount of Mg (r = −0.70) and the amount
a
of organic matter in the soil, confirms the obtained results. The
L, loam; SL, sandy loam; SCL, sandy clay loam.
results showed that the pH value of soil also had an influence on

Table 4
Mean values ± SD (ppm) of mineral matter content in Virginia tobacco from different production areas (ppm).

Origin

Mineral Senta Čoka Šabac B.Bašta S.Mitrovica

matter

K 13228,67 ± 4,51a 6811 ± 4,00d 3189 ± 5,57e 9393 ± 4,58b 8548 ± 2,00c
Ca 28948 ± 4,36a 19383 ± 4,04c 22749 ± 3,00b 6677 ± 5,03e 16545 ± 3,00d
Mg 5722 ± 4,51b 6421 ± 3,00a 2205 ± 4,58d 1509 ± 4,58e 4454 ± 6,51c
Na 15,29 ± 0,50c 24,18 ± 0,03b 25,34 ± 0,04a 11,09 ± 0,12d 9,26 ± 0,05e
Fe 182,11 ± 0,06e 995,87 ± 0,04a 788,04 ± 0,10a 185,91 ± 0,07d 457,28 ± 0,05c
Cu 20,44 ± 0,07b 16,60 ± 0,03d 29,06 ± 0,05e 17,80 ± 0,08c 16,42 ± 0,04e
Zn 27,13 ± 0,08e 32,74 ± 0,06d 57,23 ± 0,06a 44,23 ± 0,09b 35,23 ± 0,04c
Pb 1,12 ± 0,04b 0,81 ± 0,02c 1,26 ± 0,04a 0,79 ± 0,06c 0,65 ± 0,02d
Cd 0,13 ± 0,03c 0,35 ± 0,04b 0,48 ± 0,02a 0,35 ± 0,04b 0,44 ± 0,05ab
Hg 0,03 ± 0,01d 0,37 ± 0,04b 0,50 ± 0,03a 0,11 ± 0,02c 0,03 ± 0,01d

Mean values with different letters in a column for each group are significantly from one another (p < 0,05).

Table 5
Pearson’s Correlation between mineral matter content in Virginia tobacco.

K Ca Mg Na Fe Cu Zn Pb Cd Hg

K 1
Ca .126 1
Mg .364 .579* 1
Na −.646** .447 .168 1
Fe −.773** .175 .286 .808** 1
Cu −.547* .419 −.439 .583* .211 1
Zn −.796** −.277 −.823** .361 .258 .737** 1
Pb −.221 .651** −.152 .607* .093 .890** .407 1
Cd −.846** −.413 −.479 .190 .512 .267 .711** −.140 1
Hg −.872** .151 −.144 .919** .829** .630* .645** .497 .527* 1
**
Correlation is significant at the 0.01.
*
Correlation is significant at the 0.05.
384 V. Radojičić et al. / Industrial Crops and Products 67 (2015) 381–386

Table 7 Table 8
SBRm of Virginia from different production areas (mg/min) Pearson’s Correlation between mineral matter content, SBRl , SBRm in Virginia
tobacco, soils pH and organic matter in soils.
Origin Mean ± SD
SBRl SBRm pH Organ. matter %
B. Bašta 50.48c ±0.58
Čoka 59.92b ±0.56 K .320 .322 −.616* −.230
S.Mitrovica 49.11d ±0.67 Ca .651** .859** .484 −.820**
Senta 69.97a ±0.50 Mg .470 .525* .003 −.689**
Šabac 59.14b ±0.50 Na .437 .466 .958** −.449
Fe .026 .020 .654** −.208
Cu .188 .323 .752** −.146
Zn −.348 -.350 .477 .443
the mineral matter content (Table 6 and 8), as indicated by a very Pb .533* .685** .772** −.432
Cd −.632* -.698** .163 .580*
strong statistical correlation between soil pH and Na (r = 0.96), and
Hg .119 .116 .894** −.104
Fe (r = 0.65). Conversely, by increasing of soil pH values, the quan- SBRl 1 .881** .463 −.741**
tity of K (r = −0.62) was decreased in tobacco leaves. According to SBRm .881** 1 .512 −.846**
the research Jakšić et al. (2013) the intensity of binding metals in **
Correlation is significant at the 0,01
the soil increases with increasing of organic matter and soil pH, *
Correlation is significant at the 0.05
which is consistent with our research.
There were differences among the heavy metal concentra- Cd, which is consistent with literature data (Sifola and Postiglione,
tion. The significantly highest amount of heavy metals was 2002; Sifola, 2005). Tobacco reabsorb smaller amounts of heavy
observed in tobacco grown at Šabac area. Compared to the liter- metals, with the exception of Cd, if the pH value of soil is lower
ature data (Jaredić and Vučetić, 1977), the toxic concentrations (Tsadilas et al., 2005). It should be noted that the Sremska Mitrovica
of Cu (>20 ppm) were found in tobacco samples from Šabac area had the highest amount of total precipitation in the vegetation
(29.08 ppm) and Senta (20.44 ppm). The highest amounts of Pb also period.
were detected for tobacco grown at Šabac (1.26 ppm) and Senta From results presented, it is obvious that the samples of tobacco
(1.12 ppm) areas. Concentrations of Pb in examined tobacco sam- grown at Šabac area had the highest concentration of Pb, Cu, Fe, Zn
ples were lower than those reported in the literature (Jaredić and and Cd. It is well documented (Djarmati, 1989) that high concentra-
Vučetić, 1977). This was a significant finding because of well known tions of these heavy metals have a pronounced negative effect on
toxicity of lead. These data are in agreement to those previously tobacco plant. The amounts of heavy metals were within allowed,
reported (Kaličanin and Velimirović 2012). There was statistically non-toxic limits. The only exception was Cu with the concentra-
significant correlations (Table 5) between Pb and Cu (r = 0.89). tion above the allowed limit. Also, these samples contained the
Very strong statistically significant correlation between Pb content lowest concentration of K. Low concentration of K had negative
(r = 0.77), as well as Cu content (r = 0.75) and pH value of soil also effect on burning speeds. According to the literature data (Radojicic
confirmed obtained results. According to the literature data, the et al., 2006), concentration of K is essential for process of burning of
plant absorbed less amounts of heavy metals, if the pH of soil is tobacco. Amount of Ca is also significant for burning process and it
less (Karaivazoglou et al., 2005; Sifola, 2005). Large amounts of Pb was found that ratio of Ca to K in tobacco samples with good burn-
and Cu can be explained by vicinity of the the regional road and ing rates is 1. Because of correlation of K/Mg ratio with value for
the food industry in the Senta region, as well as vicinity to highly burning rates, the amount of Mg is also important (Radojicic et al.,
developed chemical industry in the Šabac region. 2006).
Amounts of Hg in samples were in range of 0.03–0.5 ppm which Table 6 indicates that different production areas have a sig-
is in agreement with the literature data (Jaredić and Vučetić, 1977). nificant impact on the value of SBRl . As it can be seen from
Concentration of Hg was significantly higher in tobacco originating Tables 1 and 6 SBRl values in our experiment were lower in compar-
from Šabac, compared to other tobacco samples. However, there ison to the literature data for flue-cured tobacco (Nikolić and Josić,
was no significant difference between amounts of Hg in tobacco 1997). Samples of tobacco grown at Senta area had the significantly
samples from Senta and S. Mitrovica. higher SBRl compared to samples from B.Bašta and S.Mitrovica.
Concentrations of Cd in samples were also lower to those Virginia grown at Senta area contained the highest amount of K
reported in the literature (1.25–7.02 ppm). There were no differ- (13.229 ppm), Ca (28.948 ppm) and the K/Mg ratio: 2.31. Amounts
ences in concentration of Cd i Pb between samples from Čoka and of Mg and Na were also high compared to other tobacco sam-
B. Bašta area. Tobacco from Senta area was contained the lowest ples. Virginia grown at B.Bašta had the significantly higher SBRl
amounts of Zn, Hg and Cd. However, it has been found a strong pos- compared to sample from S.Mitrovica. There were no statistically
itive correlation between the amount of Zn and Cd (r = 0.71), as well different in SBRl value between tobacco from Šabac area and the
as Hg (r = 0.65) in the analyzed samples of tobacco (Table 5). Also, it other tobacco samples. Virginia grown at Sremska Mitrovica area
is important to emphasize that there was a statistically strong posi- had the statistically significant lowest value for SBRl . This tobacco
tive correlation (r = 0.58) between amount of Cd in tobacco samples sample had a low amount of Ca (16.545 ppm) and the lowest con-
and the amount of organic matter in the soil (Table 8). The results centration of Na (9.26 ppm). Accordingly, it can be stated that the
showed that there was a very strong positive correlation between increased amounts K, Ca, Mg i Na in the tobacco, contributed to
the pH value of soils and the amount of Hg (r = 0.89) in tobacco sam- increase SBRl (Table 8). Statistically significant strong positive cor-
ples, which is consistent with the literature data (Karaivazoglou relation was established only between SBRl and concentration of
et al., 2005; Sifola, 2005). Ca (r = 0.65). It is important to point out that from all heavy metals,
It is important also to point out on antagonism between K i Pb only had a positive impact on increasing of SBRl value (r = 0.53).
Cd (r = −0.85), the same as K and Hg (r = −0.87) which means that In contrast, the increasing of Cd amount in tobacco samples, has led
increasing of K content results by decreasing of Cd and Hg contents to the decrease in the SBRl value (r = −0.63).
(Table 5). The analysis of variance showed that the different production
Tobacco grown at Sremska Mitrovica area contained the signif- areas have a significant impact on the SBRm of Virginia tobacco
icantly lowest concentrations of Na and Cu. Heavy metals, found in (Table 7).
the lowest concentrations, were Pb and Hg. Thus, the tobacco from Samples of tobacco grown at Senta area had the significantly
this region contains the smallest quantity of heavy metals, except higher SBRm (69.97 mg/min) compared to other tobacco samples.
 V. Radojičić et al. / Industrial Crops and Products 67 (2015) 381–386
As previously mentioned (Table 4), this tobacco sample contained
the highest amount of K and Ca, and the best K/Mg ratio (2.31).
Virginia sample from Čoka area had the significantly higher SBRm
compared to samples from B.Bašta and S.Mitrovica.
There were no statistically different in SBRm value between Vir-
ginia samples from Šabac area and Čoka area. The lowest value
for SBRm , as well as SBRl , was detected for sample of Virginia
tobacco grown in area of SremskaMitrovica (49.11 mg/min). The
characteristic of this sample is low amount of Ca and the lowest
concentration of Na (9.26 ppm). It can be concluded that increasing
of Ca and Mg values results in significant increasing of SBRm . A very
strong positive correlation (Table 8) was observed between values
of Ca and SBRm (r = 0.86) and Mg (r = 0.52) and SBRm . Regarding the
effect of heavy metals on the static burning rate, there was only a
statistically significant positive correlations between the amount
of Pb and SBRm values (r = 0.68). In this case also, by increasing the
amount of Cd in the tobacco samples, there was a decrease SBRm
values (r = −0.70).
As it can be seen from Tables 1 and 7, all deviations of SBRm
values for examined samples were in allowed limits (max 10%) in
comparison to the literature data (Nikolić and Josić, 1997). Also,
from results shown in this paper, it could be concluded that SBR
values were depended not only by the amount of K and Mg and
their ratio, but also by amounts of Ca, Pb i Cd.
The relationship between SBRl and SBRm values was also investi-
gated by using Pearson’s coefficients of linear correlation (Table 8).
It has been established a strong positive correlation between two
variables (r = 0.88, p < 0.01), where the higher value of SBRl follows
the higher SBRm value.
4. Conclusion
Based on the results presented in this paper, it can be concluded
that most important factors for mineral matter content in tobacco
leaves are pH of soil, organic matter content in soil and vicinity of
large industrial centers.
The results showed a statistically significant strong positive cor-
relation between soil pH and the following elements in tobacco
leaves: Na (r = 0.96), Hg (r = 0.89), Pb (r = 0.77), Cu (r = 0.75) and
Fe (r = 0.65) but also a negative correlation with the amount of K
(r = −0.62).
There was a strong negative correlation between the amount of
organic matter in soil and the following elements in tobacco leaves:
Ca (r = -0.82), Mg (r = −0.69)) but also a positive correlation with the
amount of Cd (r = 0.58).
Amounts of heavy metals in tobacco leaves from all five areas
were below toxic concentration. The only exception was amount
of Cu in tobacco leaves from Šabac (29 ppm). This could be a con-
sequence of the vicinity of large industrial centers. Tobacco leaves
from the Šabac production area have also slightly higher content
of Zn, Pb, Cd and Hg than tobacco grown in the other production
areas.
A very strong positive correlation between the content of Ca
and Pb, a positive correlation of Mg and Na, and a strong negative
correlation of Cd and both SBR values has been found.
Virginia tobacco type grown at Senta area had the highest val-
ues for both speeds of combustion (4.99 mm/min for SBRl and
69.97 mg/min for SBRm ). These tobacco leaves had the highest
amount of K and Ca, the best K/Mg ratio and the lowest concen-
tration of Cd.
Virginia tobacco type grown at Sremska Mitrovica area had the
lowest values for both speeds of combustion (3.95 mm/min for SBRl
and 49.11 mg/min for SBRm ). This tobacco sample had a low amount
of Ca, the lowest concentration of Na and high concentration of
Cd.
385
The results obtained in this study are of great importance,
because the production of total particulate phase and thus the
harmful components of smoke are decreased if the cigarette burns
quickly and completely.
Acknowledgements
Authors are grateful to the Ministry of Education, Science and
Technology Development of Republic of Serbia, for their support
(Project No. 46010).
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