Tobacco growers need to begin preparing now to manage diseases in the 2014 crop. There's no way to tell what disease pressures growers will face in the coming growing season. Much depends on the climate when dealing with diseases like blue mold and target spot. However, some problems will show up again and again once certain pathogens become established in a transplant system or the field.
It is important to think about managing diseases like Pythium root rot, target spot, black shank and Fusarium wilt now and not wait until the upcoming production season. A critical step is to institute good sanitary practices on the farm. Many diseases seen in the float system and field survive between crops on equipment and plant residues.
Greenhouses and outdoor float beds should be thoroughly cleaned and sanitized in the fall to reduce overwintering populations of pathogens. Plant debris and trash should be buried or burned. Styrofoam trays should be carefully cleaned, sanitized as recommended (or destroyed), and properly stored before winter sets in.
In the field, especially where black shank was a problem, all crop debris needs to be turned under as quickly as possible after harvest. The black shank pathogen (as well as Rhizoctonia and Pythium) survives very well on crop residues, and stalks left in the field can be a source of inoculum that can lead to outbreaks of disease in 2014.
By plowing crop residues under in the fall, soil microbes will have more time to break down plant matter. This in turn will help reduce pathogen survival over the winter, and the effect will be greater than waiting until next spring to incorporate crop residue.
It's also time to think about crop rotation. One of the best practices that we can recommend for preventing or suppressing diseases like black shank and Fusarium wilt is rotation to a non-host crop. Even though we are many months from planting, growers need to start the planning process and make decisions on field choice and potential rotation crops.
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