L. Dospatliev

Abstract. The study was conducted on alluvial-meadow, maroon-forest soils and vertisols with Virginia tobacco. The total content of zinc is measured through decomposition by HF, HClO , and HNO acids. A solution of 0.005 M diethylentriaminepentaacetic acid + 0.1 M triethanolamine, pH 7.3 was used for extraction 4 3 of the elements’ mobile forms from soils. The preparation of plant samples was made by means of dry ashing and dissolution in 3 M HCl. An atomic absorption spectrometer “Spektra AA 220” of the Australian company Varian was used for determination of Zn content in the soil and plant samples. Certified reference materials (three soils and tobacco leaves) were also analyzed for the verification of the accuracy of Zn determination.A correlation/regression analysis was conducted between pH, humus content, total and mobile forms of zinc in the soil, and the concentration of these elements in the aboveground biomass of Virginia tobacco. It was established that there are no statistically significant dependencies determined between soil pH, humus content and zinc concentration in the plant organs of Virginia tobacco. Regressional dependencies of great significance were determined between the total and mobile zinc in the soil, and the element concentration in the leaves of the three harvesting zones.