The potential for mandated lowering of cigarette nicotine levels by various regulatory agencies has caused increased interest in development of tobacco cultivars with lower potential for accumulation of this alkaloid. The suggested threshold level of tolerance has been 0.4 mg/g, or below. Few, if any, tobacco cultivars currently exist that would routinely meet this ultra-low nicotine content when grown under conventional agronomic management, however. We have produced and evaluated a series of new non-GMO and non-gene edited genetic combinations for alkaloid accumulation in different field experiments. A number of these materials accumulate nicotine at levels far lower than previously described genotypes. Data suggest that some new genotypes could routinely produce cured leaf with nicotine levels (averaged over all stalk positions) below the currently suggested level of nicotine concentration of 0.4 mg/g. Corresponding changes in yield and quality characteristics will be reported.

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