US: Wet Weather Increases Fungus and Bacterial Risks for Local Tobacco Farms

Source from:  WPSD Local 6 08/13/2013

Too much of a good thing.  The old saying is ringing true for tobacco farmers whose crops are in desperate need of some drier weather.

All the rain we've seen this summer is creating the perfect conditions for fungus and bacteria to thrive on tobacco leaves.  Without a stretch of dry weather, there's not much farmers can do to stop the diseases from taking over.

This time of year, you want your tobacco plant to have nice green full leaves. But unfortunately with all the rain we've had this summer, tobacco farmers are dealing with fungus and bacteria eating away at their plants and their profits.

"Whenever it turns brown, it's dead. And it's gone," farmer Ray Murdock said.

Murdock owns a five acre tobacco field and says he can't fight the fungus chewing up the leaves because of the wet weather.

"You don't need to have any rain in it for three or four days."

A scenario Calloway County, Kentucky hasn't seen in weeks.

"We had an inch today already, looks like we're gonna get some more," Murdock said.

"Most years in August, people would be praying for rain, but this year it's a bit of a different story," said Trent Murdock

Trent Murdock is an agriculture and natural resources agent and says his dad isn't alone.
 
"It's been kind of a good growing environment for the diseases."

Everyone with an interest in tobacco is in a race against time and Mother Nature.

"The old timers used to say that one extreme followed another one, but I'm 59 today and I've never seen a year like this one in my life," Ray Murdock said.
 
"Murdock says some of his plants are a total loss. There's nothing he can put on them to stop the damage that's already been done.

Row crops are still doing well, but like tobacco, soy beans are susceptible to fungus and bacteria brought on by too much rain. Enditem