Float beds could experience increased problems as temperatures continue to rise

This article is from Kenny Seabold, tobacco specialist at U.K. College of Agriculture and I wanted to share it with the tobacco farmers.

Current situation
The most common problem affecting float beds at the moment is Pythium root rot, and I expect that problem to ramp up later this week because of the warm weather that is forecasted. It’s likely that we’ll also see problems with blackleg (bacterial soft rot), particularly in float beds that are running high levels of nitrogen.

At this point in the season, growers need to keep a close watch on plants and make sure that fertilizer levels are not so high as to promote rapid, lush growth of plants. Steps should be taken to keep air moving on plants to keep them as dry as possible. Regular clipping will help keep the lower canopy dry in float beds, but make sure that this operation is carried out when plants are relatively dry.

When clipping, it’s important to remove only one-half to one inch of leaf at a time to minimize deposition of leaf matter on trays and injury to plants. Remove any trays affected by blackleg or collar rot (Sclerotinia) before clipping and replace them with empty trays to avoid spreading disease throughout the float bed. Sanitize mowers with a 10 percent bleach solution after each use.

For Pythium root rot, Terramaster 4EC can be applied up to five days before setting, as long as the seasonal limit of 3.8 fl. oz./100 gallons of float water has not been exceeded. For prevention, add .7 to 1 fl. oz./100 gallons of float water, and if the disease is active, use 1 to 1.4 fl. oz./100 gallons. Hopefully we’ll be able to plant a good bit of tobacco this week and get those plants off the beds and in the ground where they belong.

An issue that may be a problem for growers after transplanting, is damping-off caused by Pythium spp. Given our wet soils and the warm weather, we could see more of this problem than normal. The best options for controlling Pythium damping-off are to avoid transplanting into excessively wet ground, and to apply Ridomil Gold SL (or a generic equivalent) before or immediately after planting. Thus, growers using Ridomil for black shank control should see some protection.

Using Ridomil in setter water (4 to 8 fl. oz./A) should provide protection against Pythium damping-off as well as black shank; only Ridomil Gold SL is approved for this type of use pattern. Growers using the setter-water method of application should use at least 200 gallons/A to set plants (or more) and need to have a copy of the 24c label in their possession.

Blue mold
Blue mold is still absent in the U.S as of May 30. Getting information about blue mold outside of Kentucky will be a bit difficult in 2012.
The North American Plant Disease Forecasting Center will not be providing its normal blue mold status reports this year, so we’ll be relying on direct reports from county agents and specialists in neighboring states.

Central Kentucky premier heifer sale:
There will be a Central Kentucky Premier Heifer Sale on Saturday, June 2, 2012 at 1 p.m. at the Marion County Fairgrounds, 720 Fairgrounds Road, Lebanon. These are the specifications of the sale:
Approximately 225 first-calf heifers will sell from producers in Marion and Nelson counties.

Bred to calve in the spring starting February 2012
Guaranteed bred to bulls with known EPD’s and have met stringent requirements for health, quality and pelvic measurements.
Guaranteed pregnant 30 days past sale.
Some heifers are synchronized and artificially bred.
All consignors are certified Master Cattlemen
Free delivery of 10 head or more up to 100 miles.    
All heifers qualify for Phase I Herd Builder Program
Detailed information at www.heifersales.com.