Investigation of Associations Between Rhizosphere Microorganisms and the Chemical Composition of Flue-Cured Tobacco Leaves Using Canonical Correlation Analysis

Canonical correlation analysis was applied to determine the relationship of rhizosphere microorganisms to common chemical components in flue-cured tobacco leaves. The results were as follows: (1) The chemical composition of the tobacco was related to the major microbial physiological groups in the rhizosphere soil. No close relationship was found with the populations of bacteria, fungi, and actinomycetes. (2) Greater contents of total nitrogen and potassium in tobacco leaves were associated with larger populations of aerobic nitrogen-fixing bacteria and with smaller populations of aerobic cellulose-decomposing bacteria. In addition, potassium content was also negatively correlated with nitrosobacteria counts but showed no close relationship with the potassium bacteria in the rhizosphere. The nicotine content was associated with greater populations of nitrosobacteria and nitrobacteria, and the content of water-soluble total sugar was positively correlated with the counts of nitrosobacteria.