When plants are exposed to too much water, it’s hard to determine whether they are drowning or suffering from nutrient leaching. Leaching occurs when some nutrients sink below normal rooting depth because of an excess of water percolating through the root zone of deep, sandy soil. If a grower’s soil is composed of clay within […]
Although 2013 weather was damaging to Kentucky burley fields—experts estimate that about 5 percent of the crop was lost—curing conditions were better than average. Even though the yield was lower, the quality, because of the good curing, was higher, leading to higher prices. Bob Pearce, tobacco agronomist at the University of Kentucky, predicts that high […]
How do you have the most successful final product possible? You must have a successful beginning. For tobacco farmers, this means starting out with strong seeds that grow into healthy transplants. With a seed so small its volume ranges from 10,000 to 20,000 seeds per gram, transformation from the fragile seedling stage into hardy transplants […]
2013 Outlook Uncertain Coming on the heels of a very good 2012 growing season, many growers are registering guarded optimism for the 2013 season. According to the most recent U.S. Department of Agriculture crop report estimate, 2012 flue-cured production increased to 494.6 million pounds from 344.5 million pounds in 2011. The excellent quality of the […]
