Fig. 1

The weather conditions of flue-cured tobacco growth period in 2021 and 2022. S1 indicates the period from tobacco seedling transplanting to establishment, known as the seedling restitution stage. S2 indicates the period from seedling establishment to the rosette stage, known as the root spreading stage. S3 indicates the period from rosette stage to flower-bud appearing stage stage, known as the fast growing period. S4 indicates the period from flower-bud appearing stage to the rounded bud stage, known as the top leaf expansion stage. S5 indicates the period from 10 d after topping the tobacco leaves until the final harvest of the upper leaves, known as the mature stage. Red line indicates the day of treatment, also the day of topping the tobacco leaves