J. Michael Moore, University of Georgia Extension Agronomist-Tobacco
South Georgia Weather
Transplanting Progress
Blue Mold Spreading
Early Worms Causing Problems
Baling Approved for Use
in 1998
Tobacco Tour Dates
Adequate soil moisture has existed for most of the 1998 transplanting season. Periods of excessive soil moisture served to prolong the season. Air and soil temperatures have remained moderate with daytime temperatures ranging from the upper 60s to the mid 80s. Days of prolonged cloudiness and general rain during the last week in April caused concerns of spreading blue mold.
While transplant supplies have generally been adequate for transplanting the state's tobacco crop, transplants have been in short supply in certain areas, causing considerable movement of plants across the state. A few plants are said to have been brought in from North Carolina. Numerous growers complained of plants which wilted and died after transplanting. Many of these were determined to have resulted from rhizoctinia injury to the stems in the plant beds and greenhouses. Although some re-transplanting has occurred, most of the crop has become quickly established and is beginning to grow well. A majority of the crop has had the initial fertilizer application.
Blue mold is now active and well scattered in Grady, Colquitt, Mitchell, Decatur, Worth, Brooks, Echols and Berrien counties. Blue mold is probably scattered over most of southwest Georgia and merely not yet detected. ALL growers southwest of Douglas should check fields AND spray with Acrobat MZ. The rate of Acrobat MZ and per acre water volume depend on tobacco plant size - not what is convenient. All other growers should check fields and be prepared to spray if any blue mold is found. Continue reporting all cases of blue mold. The blue mold in Grady County has been tested and is not sensitive to Ridomil. In Mitchell County, blue mold is equally active in fields treated or not treated with Ridomil.
Numerous fields in Grady and Colquitt counties have been verified to be infected with blue mold. The first sightings were in shade tobacco production near Reno in Grady County and in a plant bed from which a number of growers obtained plants around the Reno area. Other sites in Colquitt County started in fields adjacent to cabbage fields that were kept wet by water from frequent irrigations of adjacent fields. Lesions are actively sporulating and putting the remainder of the crop at risk.
The fungicide Acrobat MZ, which is still being developed, has received a Section 18 Emergency Exemption for use as a preventive for blue mold on tobacco during the 1998 season. Growers are being encouraged to apply 0.5 to 0.75 pound of Acrobat MZ per acre in 20 gallons of water to tobacco less than three weeks old and to increase the rate to 1.0 to 1.25 pounds per 40 gallons of water per acre for tobacco four to six weeks old. Complete coverage is a must to ensure control. Sprays should be repeated every five to seven days and after wash-off until the threat of blue mold has been lifted. Multiple spray nozzles per row should be used after tobacco starts to grow and increase foliage.
Tobacco budworms and tobacco splitworms are appearing in greater numbers and earlier than in previous years. David Jones, Georgia Extension Service entomologist for tobacco, reports outbreaks of tobacco splitworms (potato tuberworms) in young tobacco across the state and at levels previously unreported in Georgia. Splitworms have brown heads and a creamy-colored bodies and feed between the upper and lower external layers of tobacco leaves. Splitworms have also been found boring into the buds of tobacco plants in a manner similar to that of budworms. Control of splitworms is best accomplished with Lannate and a surfactant that enhances penetration into the leaf where the splitworm is feeding. Because they are inside the leaf, splitworms have proven to be as hard as budworms to control. Application of the insecticide to the infested area is important. Their feeding results in window pane-like areas in the leaf, which remain through harvest and curing and detract from the appearance and quality of the cured leaf.
On April 27, 1998, USDA announced it will participate in an experimental packaging method (baling) for marketing flue-cured tobacco for the 1998 season. Bale weights will be targeted for 750 pounds with a 100-pound tolerance over or under the target. Bales more than 850 pounds will have no price support. Bale size will remain the same as lat year, at 42 inches wide by 42 inches tall by 40 inches long in the direction of compression. Bales will be secured with at least four cotton-type bale wires running horizontally around each bale. Wire will be 44 inches long and made of 12 gauge steel. A corrugated fiberboard slipsheet treated with a water-resistant coating will cover the bottom and parts of two sides of the bale. Approved tags attached in the approved manner will be required for marketing bales. Tags can be ordered with a Tag Request Form processed by the Flue-Cured Bale Tag Registry in the Department of Engineering at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC.
Remember the dates for the Florida and Georgia Tobacco Tours as you make plans for the summer. The Florida Tour will be June 16, beginning in Gainesville, FL, and ending that evening in Lake Park, GA, where it will join the Georgia Tour for dinner. The Georgia Tour will continue June 17 from Lake Park to Berrien County to the Coastal Plain Experiment Station at Tifton and to Waycross for the evening. On June 18, the Georgia Tour will travel from Waycross to Alma and north to Claxton, GA. More details on schedule and motels will follow later.
Thank you for calling the Georgia Tobacco Hotline, presented by the University of Georgia Extension Tobacco Team and brought to you by the makers of Orthene 75S.
