Blue Mold Found on Clark County Tobacco

Source from:  Janis Edmon Action News 36 Jul 2, 20:51 PM EDT 07/04/2006

A wet spring has Kentucky tobacco farmers dealing with mold. It's called "blue mold" and is very damaging to tobacco crops. Brennan Gilkison is a fourth-generation tobacco farmer and he knows blue mold can take out a tobacco crop. Frank Hicks, Clark County's agricultural extension agent, says blue mold started popping up in the county early this week and has continued to grow. Hicks says he usually finds the blue mold after a a rain shower moves through the area. He also says sunlight can deactivate the spores. Once blue mold attacks a tobacco plant, it produces millions of spores. Those spores become wind-born and are carried to other plants in the area. According to Hicks, blue mold spreads rapidly and destroys the tobacco leaves. Hicks says there is considerable evidence that some infected plants were brought in from farther south and planted in Kentucky, adding the spread of the mold. He says even farmers with no apparent signs of mold need to keep an eye out. Enditem