North Carolina: Tobacco Farmers Keep Watch

Source from:  CHRIS DE NITTIS DAILY NEWS STAFF  06/25/2004

Eastern North Carolina tobacco farmers are being hit with two crop diseases - one caused by hot and dry conditions earlier this year and another from recent bouts of sporadic rainfall. But not all farmers are impacted, and many areas in Onslow County are reporting some of the best leaf in years. Thus far, spots in Duplin County have been impacted by both diseases, said Bryant Spivey, an agricultural extension agent there. He said cases of the Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus are up from last year and have, in some instances, overtaken 30 percent of fields. [img border=0 hspace="4" vspace="4" align="left" src=http://www.tobaccochina.com/english/picture/062404_tobacco.jpg] "We've had warm temperatures and good growing conditions, but we've also had quite a bit of disease," he said. Most tobacco crops were started in April and May, and the plants are now flowering. By July 4, most farmers will be ready to begin harvesting leaf. But the weather in April could have an effect on the amount of tobacco reaped. Hot and dry conditions this year promoted the spread of the Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus. Spivey said that last year, the virus wasn't much of a problem because when farmers planted, temperatures were cooler and the soil moist. And though the ground is, for the most part, getting sufficient rain, the weather is still hot, making conditions ripe for yet another disease - the Gramble Wilt. "The weather is the primary driving force of these two diseases," he said. "Warm temperatures and good soil moisture promoted the Gramble Wilt, and we've seen a tremendous amount this year - whole plants are wilted and diseased." Farmers will have to write off the majority of their plants infected with Gramble Wilt. Rehabilitation for the Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus is possible, depending at what stage the plants were infected. "When a smaller plant develops the disease, it dies rapidly," he said. "When they're larger, the plant may not die but there will be little harvestable material from that plant." Having a younger plant die off is preferable to having the field space wasted, Spivey said. Spivey is hoping that this phenomenon may cause farmers to lose only 5 to 10 percent of their tobacco yield from the Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus. But some farmers may be spared from any disease. Jeff Morton, Onslow County's agricultural extension agent, said that while Duplin conditions usually mirror those in Onslow County, crop disease can be erratic. At Odum Farms in Swansboro, for example, the tobacco crops are coming along just fine, said owner Bradley Odum. "As far as this year goes, things are pretty good," he said. "This is the best crop we've had in two years." Enditem