Planting of the crop is mostly complete with the majority of it having been done in May. Plant quality has been good going out into fields. Rainfall this past weekend helped to alleviate dry soil conditions that had persisted over most of May.
To date, there have not been many problems reported. Earlier, there was frost damage to some plantings made prior to May 23rd. High winds during the week of May 25th did cause some sandblasting to plants on knolls in fields, especially in fields without windbreaks. There have been a few reports of white grubs feeding on the stems of plants below ground, which was noticed while replanting.
On June 2nd, active Blue Mold was found in tobacco greenhouses in Greeneville, Tennessee. Infected plants from these greenhouses had gone out to the field prior to the disease being discovered. It is suspected that the Blue Mold resulted from air-borne spores that originated from the Gulf of Mexico region over the past two weeks. At this time, this is the only report of Blue Mold in the tobacco growing areas of the United States. To date, there have been no reports of Blue Mold in Ontario. Growers should routinely scout fields and any remaining plants in greenhouses for signs of Blue Mold. If found, please report it immediately.
Post prepared and sent by Canadian Tobacco Research Foundation
Mailing Address: CTRF, P.O. Box 322, Tillsonburg, ON N4G 4H5
Telephone: 519-842-8997
Web Address: http://ctrf1.com