The Flue-Cured Tobacco Crop Protection Guide, Publication 843 contains recommendations on registered pest control products for flue-cured tobacco in Ontario. In the publication’s tables that list the control products, there is a column that identifies whether a product is “TREC Approved”. TREC stands for Tobacco Review and Evaluation Committee, which tests the acceptability of a product for use in flue-cured tobacco production. Certain tobacco contractors require that control products used by their growers are TREC approved. Check with your contractor as to their requirements.

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Mailing Address: CTRF, P.O. Box 322, Tillsonburg, ON  N4G 4H5

Telephone: 519-842-8997

Web Address: http://ctrf1.com

With another greenhouse season almost here, things to be on the lookout for based on what we have seen in the past few years are provided in the plant protection area of the website.

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Mailing Address: CTRF, P.O. Box 322, Tillsonburg, ON  N4G 4H5

Telephone: 519-842-8997

Web Address: http://ctrf1.com

The annual tobacco variety meeting was held on March 5, 2015.  Highlights of this meeting are provided in the plant breeding area of the website.

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Mailing Address: CTRF, P.O. Box 322, Tillsonburg, ON  N4G 4H5

Telephone: 519-842-8997

Web Address: http://ctrf1.com

Agronomic performance data on the registered varieties grown in 2014 can now be viewed in the plant breeding area of the website.

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Mailing Address: CTRF, P.O. Box 322, Tillsonburg, ON  N4G 4H5

Telephone: 519-842-8997

Web Address: http://ctrf1.com

CTRF is holding an “Open House” on Thursday, December 11 between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 12:00 noon.  Cured leaf samples of registered and promising varieties will be on display.  Handouts on the performance of the registered varieties will be available.  There will also be a plant pathology display in CTRF’s research lab.  Click here for the program and directions.

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Mailing Address: CTRF, P.O. Box 322, Tillsonburg, ON  N4G 4H5

Telephone: 519-842-8997

Web Address: http://ctrf1.com

With the assistance of the Ontario Farm Innovation Program (OFIP), a project was undertaken that examined the effectiveness of the bio-pesticide, MustGrow, to control soil-borne plant pathogenic nematodes and diseases.  Results to date are provided in the following release – Evaluation of a Bio-Pesticide for Control of Soil-borne Diseases and Pests.

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Mailing Address: CTRF, P.O. Box 322, Tillsonburg, ON  N4G 4H5

Telephone: 519-842-8997

Web Address: http://ctrf1.com

Several growers have now started their last harvesting pass. As for when harvest will be completed, on most farms it will likely take most of September provided the weather cooperates.

Several fields are now showing more maturity as of late.  Cured quality continues to be good.  There are no widespread problems to report.

White Mould (caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum), which was reported in the last post, continues to be seen in certain fields. Damage from this disease can occur on leaves, as well as on the stalk.  A thick, white-coloured mould will be present and will often contain black, pea-sized overwintering bodies called sclerotia.  Leaf drop can occur when the infection is at the leaf axil.

Injury from White Mould on the stalk that has caused the leaf to fall off the plant.

At this time in the season, there is no control for White Mould. This disease is not known to spread during curing, however, infection from Pole Rot (see below) can occur in the wound created by the White Mould. More information on White Mould can be found in the technical bulletin entitled “Tobacco Pests and Disorders in the Field – White Mould” posted in the plant protection section under the research heading of this website.

Pole Rot on cured leaf.

A disease being seen in some kilns at this time is Pole Rot (caused by Rhizopus arrhizus). This disease appears as a grey, fuzzy mould on the midrib and lamina of leaves. Strategies for limiting damage from this disease are to minimize the time spent yellowing, such as yellowing at as high a temperature as possible (i.e. 40.6°C or 105°F) and then moving quickly to colour fixing which is less favourable for the development of the disease (i.e. above 43.3°C or 110°F).  In past years, some growers have been successful with closing the ventilators and flashing the dry-bulb temperature for a short period of time while yellowing.  When flashing the temperature, the tobacco first exposed to the incoming air will need to be at the point where it can be dried otherwise green fixation will occur. The flashing procedure is outlined in detail in OMAFRA’s tobacco publication 842.

To date, Blue Mold has not been reported in Ontario this year. As for the U.S., Blue Mold on various types of tobacco has been reported in the states of Virginia, Kentucky, Massachusetts and Connecticut.

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Mailing Address: CTRF, P.O. Box 322, Tillsonburg, ON  N4G 4H5

Telephone: 519-842-8997

Web Address: http://ctrf1.com

Harvest is now underway on all farms. The quality of tobacco cured so far appears good. Pressure from aphids and hornworms does not appear to be too significant at this time in fields that were treated earlier. In higher rainfall areas, crops where additional nitrogen was applied appear to be gaining more colour.  There are no widespread problems to report at this time.

Field with Bottom Leaves Harvested

As mentioned in an earlier post, leaf spotting from air pollutants (such as ozone) appears to be more general this year, especially in certain varieties such as CT572. To date, Potato Virus Y (PVY) is much less common in tobacco fields this year than last. Target Spot was evident earlier on the lower plant leaves and these leaves are now being harvested. In most cases, mid-stalk leaves appear to be minimally affected by this disease. There have been no reports of Blue Mold in Ontario. In the U.S., Blue Mold has been reported recently on tobacco in the states of Virginia and Massachusetts.

Currently, White Mould (Sclerotinia sclerotiorum) is being seen in a few fields. This disease can survive in the soil for several years even without a host. Planting tobacco after a susceptible crop, such as soybean or double cropping tobacco, should be avoided. Continuous cropping of a susceptible crop can lead to a greater amount of inoculum in the soil and greater incidence of the disease. For more information on White Mould, please refer to the technical bulletin entitled “Tobacco Pests and Disorders in the Field – White Mould” posted in the plant protection section under the research heading of this website.

White Mould on Leaf

White Mould Lesion on Side of Stalk

White Mould on Leaves and Top of Stalk

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Mailing Address: CTRF, P.O. Box 322, Tillsonburg, ON  N4G 4H5

Telephone: 519-842-8997

Web Address: http://ctrf1.com

Several technical bulletins on tobacco pests and disorders in the greenhouse and field are now available in the Plant Protection area of CTRF’s website.  All of the bulletins have been prepared by Dr. Catarina Saude, CTRF’s Plant Protection Program Team Lead.  If anyone requires further information, please do not hesitate to contact us.

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Mailing Address: CTRF, P.O. Box 322, Tillsonburg, ON  N4G 4H5

Telephone: 519-842-8997

Web Address: http://ctrf1.com

Harvest is now underway on some farms.  To date, there continues to be no widespread problems.  There has been excessive rains in some areas, which have caused some crops to turn yellow.  Additional nitrogen has been applied in these cases to try to bring back the colour.

Some growers are reporting a reddish or pink discolouration (frost-like appearance) on some leaves in certain areas of fields.  This often seems to be in weaker areas of fields or where the tobacco is low in nitrogen.  We started to receive calls about this problem this week, soon after a storm had gone through the area.  It is suspected that the damage is from driving rain and windy conditions.  The discolouration on the leaf is likely the result of the leaf tissue breaking down.  Often the side of the plant that the storm originated from shows the most discolouration on the leaves.  With time, the affected areas of the leaf turn brown and will often fall out.

Pink discolouration shown on leaf.

We encountered a case of Tobacco Mosaic Virus (TMV) in a field last week.  In this particular case the field was being double cropped.  TMV spreads by contact and can be easily spread to several plants down a row.  Whenever TMV is seen in a field, even if it is only a few infected plants, it is recommended not to double crop the field with tobacco because often in the second year several plants in the field can become infected with the virus.  For more information on TMV and its control, please refer to the technical bulletin entitled “Tobacco Pests and Disorders in the Field – Tobacco Mosaic Virus (TMV)” posted in the plant protection section under the research heading of this website.

TMV infected plants.

To date, there have been no reports of Blue Mold in Ontario.  As for other diseases, there continues to be reports of Target Spot in the lower leaves.  Up until now at least, Potato Virus Y (PVY) does not appear to be as prominent and widespread as last year.

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