In this post, we continue to provide results from our annual surveys of county agents about flue-cured tobacco production practices with a focus on disease management. For more information about how these surveys were conducted, see our post on
survey methods and response. For information about the insect pest control portion of these surveys, see our post on
entomology survey data.
Greenhouse Diseases
In general, any given greenhouse plant disease resulted in an average loss of less than 6%.
Rhizoctionia,
Pythium, and black root rot were the most common greenhouse diseases.
Table 1: Average percent loss due to disease in greenhouse.
| Disease |
Average Percent Loss Due to Disease |
|
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
| Rhizoctonia Damping-Off or Stem Rot |
1.9 % |
5.6 % |
2.4 % |
| Pythium Root Rot |
1.0 % |
5.0 % |
3.7 % |
| Collar Rot (Sclerotinia) |
1.6 % |
2.7 % |
2.3 % |
| Target Spot |
0.2 % |
0.6 % |
0.9 % |
| Blue Mold |
0.0 % |
0.0 % |
0.0 % |
| Tobacco Mosaic Virus |
0.0 % |
0.1 % |
0.1 % |
| Bacterial Soft Rot |
0.2 % |
1.4 % |
0.3 % |
| Botrytis |
0.1 % |
0.1 % |
0.3 % |
| Black Root Rot |
0.0 % |
5.8 % |
0.9 % |
|
|
|
|
| Acres Responding to Question |
85,682 |
90,919 |
112,038 |
Greenhouse Pesticide Applications
Table 2: Fungicide and bactericide applications in the greenhouse.
| Fungicide/Bactericide |
Acres Responding to Question |
Average Percentage of Greenhouses Treated |
Average Number of Applications |
|
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
| No Chemical Treatment |
85,682 |
87,119 |
103,122 |
10.5 % |
1.2 % |
3.3 % |
- |
- |
- |
| Terramaster |
85,682 |
87,099 |
97,292 |
21.4 % |
28.0 % |
29.9 % |
0.8 |
1.1 |
1.1 |
| Dithane |
85,682 |
80,695 |
91,522 |
11.1 % |
4.6 % |
9.4 % |
0.9 |
0.7 |
1.0 |
| Mefenoxam (Ridomil Gold) |
85,682 |
87,099 |
94,022 |
13.8 % |
36.4 % |
30.4 % |
0.5 |
1.0 |
0.8 |
| Streptomycin/Agromycin |
85,682 |
83,299 |
68,792 |
1.3 % |
7.1 % |
1.9 % |
0.4 |
0.7 |
0.8 |
| Actigard |
85,682 |
80,695 |
64,892 |
0.9 % |
4.3 % |
3.2 % |
- |
- |
- |
| Aliette |
85,682 |
80,695 |
61,397 |
0.0 % |
0.1 % |
0.0 % |
- |
- |
- |
| Quadris |
85,682 |
83,299 |
87,792 |
5.8 % |
11.2 % |
8.3 % |
- |
- |
- |
Tray Sanitation
Washing with water and fumigating was the most common form of tray sanitation practiced. In the past two years, there has been an increase in the use of steam sanitation.
Table 3: Tobacco float tray sanitizing practices.
| Tray Sanitizing Method |
Acres Responding to Question |
Average Percentage of Trays Cleaned by Method |
|
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
2014 |
2015 |
| Wash with water, no fumigation |
85,682 |
73,284 |
91,800 |
3.5 % |
6.2 % |
6.7 % |
| Wash with bleach, no fumigation |
85,682 |
83,299 |
99,792 |
9.2 % |
11.0 % |
13.3 % |
| Wash with detergent, no fumigation |
85,682 |
73,284 |
92,292 |
1.7 % |
2.6 % |
8.9 % |
| Wash with water and fumigate |
85,682 |
72,584 |
95,570 |
47.5 % |
34.4 % |
31.2 % |
| Wash with bleach or detergent and fumigate |
85,682 |
83,299 |
93,892 |
19.2 % |
22.4 % |
12.5 % |
| Use disposable trays |
85,682 |
83,299 |
84,170 |
0.3 % |
0.7 % |
8.8 % |
| Steam |
85,682 |
87,099 |
105,292 |
9.3 % |
24.5 % |
24.4 % |
| None/other |
85,682 |
60,621 |
71,570 |
7.2 % |
0.4 % |
0.0 % |
Field Diseases
Black shank, Granville Wilt, Target Spot, and Tomato Spotted Wilt were the diseases that caused the most losses. For more information about field diseases, visit our
disease management page.
Table 4: Losses from field diseases.
| Disease |
Average Percentage of Value Lost |
|
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
| Angular Leafspot |
0.04 % |
0.11 % |
0.02 % |
| Bacterial Soft Rot |
0.01 % |
0.00 % |
0.10 % |
| Barn Rot |
0.23 % |
0.34 % |
0.61 % |
| Black Shank |
2.24 % |
5.76 % |
6.22 % |
| Blue Mold |
0.00 % |
0.00 % |
0.00 % |
| Botrytis |
0.00 % |
0.00 % |
0.00 % |
| Brown Spot |
0.00 % |
0.71 % |
0.14 % |
| Etch |
0.00 % |
0.00 % |
0.00 % |
| Fusarium Wilt |
0.21 % |
0.16 % |
0.04 % |
| Granville Wilt |
1.51 % |
4.04 % |
5.42 % |
| Hollow Stalk |
0.31 % |
0.25 % |
0.37 % |
| Misc. Root Disease |
0.00 % |
0.06 % |
0.00 % |
| Miscellaneous Leaf |
0.02 % |
0.26 % |
0.00 % |
| Mosaic |
0.37 % |
0.24 % |
0.11 % |
| Other Nematodes |
0.00 % |
0.18 % |
0.00 % |
| Pythium Root/Stalk Rot |
0.12 % |
0.15 % |
0.68 % |
| Ringspot |
0.00 % |
0.00 % |
0.00 % |
| Root-Knot Nematodes |
0.27 % |
0.73 % |
1.70 % |
| Target Spot |
6.95 % |
2.77 % |
0.97 % |
| Tomato Spotted Wilt |
2.58 % |
1.79 % |
0.59 % |
| Vein-Banding (PVY) |
0.00 % |
0.00 % |
0.02 % |
| Weather Fleck |
0.22 % |
0.08 % |
0.28 % |
|
|
|
|
| Acres Responding |
85,682 |
88,719 |
64,692 |
Field Pesticide Applications
Table 5: Soil fungicide applications.
| Fungicide |
Number of Acres Responding to Question |
Average Percentage of Acres Treated |
|
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
| None |
85,682 |
85,069 |
64,692 |
7.2 % |
14.3 % |
17.6 % |
| Mefenoxam alone (Ridomil Gold or Ultra Flourish)** |
85,682 |
72,406 |
64,692 |
19.6 % |
27.2 % |
24.5 % |
| Telone C-17 |
85,682 |
81,077 |
57,562 |
11.5 % |
29.7 % |
24.9 % |
| Telone C-17 + Mefenoxam |
85,682 |
61,789 |
46,919 |
15.0 % |
13.8 % |
12.4 % |
| Chlor-O-Pic 100 |
85,682 |
85,069 |
62,280 |
19.1 % |
23.4 % |
24.1 % |
| Chlor-O-Pic 100 + Mefenoxam |
85,682 |
65,781 |
54,049 |
13.6 % |
10.5 % |
17.9 % |
| Telone II |
85,682 |
54,662 |
54,049 |
7.4 % |
1.7 % |
1.5 % |
| Telone II + Mefenoxam |
85,682 |
55,789 |
44,317 |
2.5 % |
2.3 % |
1.0 % |
| Temik (15+lbs Alone with other insecticides) |
85,682 |
45,774 |
44,317 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Temik (15+ lbs + Mefenoxam) |
85,682 |
45,774 |
44,317 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Presidio* |
- |
- |
62,280 |
- |
- |
21.0 % |
| Presidio* + Mefenoxam |
- |
- |
60,549 |
- |
- |
11.4 % |
|
|
*Note: Presidio was not available for use in tobacco until 2015. |
**Average number of applications per season: 0.67, 1.1, and 1.4 in 2013, 2014, and 2015, respectively.
Table 6: Foliar fungicide applications.
| Fungicide |
Acres Responding to Question |
Average Percentage of Acres Treated |
Average Number of Applications |
|
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
| Acrobat 50WP |
85,682 |
62,462 |
62,462 |
3.3 % |
0.5 % |
0.7 % |
0.1 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
| Actigard |
85,682 |
61,562 |
61,562 |
5.9 % |
6.5 % |
0.5 % |
0.1 |
0.3 |
0 |
| Dithane DF |
85,682 |
61,162 |
61,162 |
0.0 % |
4.1 % |
0.2 % |
0 |
0.3 |
0 |
| Forum |
85,682 |
53,574 |
53,574 |
0.0 % |
0.2 % |
0.2 % |
0 |
0.1 |
0 |
| Aliette |
85,682 |
53,574 |
53,574 |
0.0 % |
0.2 % |
0.2 % |
0 |
0.1 |
0 |
| Quadris |
85,682 |
85,069 |
85,069 |
55.1 % |
60.4 % |
46.5 % |
1.2 |
1.6 |
1 |
