Due to more intensive management, higher yield potential, and possible changes in root morphology, flue-cured tobacco grown with drip irrigation and plastic mulch may require higher N rates than conventionally grown tobacco to obtain optimum yield and quality. In a plastic mulch/drip irrigation production system, nutrients can be applied pre-plant or injected directly into the drip irrigation system as a water-soluble fertilizer. Field experiments were conducted in South Carolina during 1994 and 1995 to determine the optimum rate and application method for a drip irrigation/plastic mulch system. Nitrogen fertilizer treatments consisted of 84, 100, 118, and 134 kg ha^-1 N in various combinations of pre-plant and injected into the drip system. Cured-leaf yields, grade index, and leaf N concentration increased with increasing N rate. Reducing sugars decreased with increasing N application, while total alkaloid levels increased slightly. Cured leaf sugar to alkaloid ratio improved as N rate increased. Pre-plant fertilization was as effective as injection into the drip irrigation (fertigation) with respect to yield, quality, and cured leaf chemistry.