Dark Tobacco in Kentucky and Tennessee

08/08/2026

Reminder: 2 To***co Field Days in Kentucky next week.

August 12: Bluegrass Burley Tour, 8:30 AM EST, UK Spindletop Farm, Lexington. 2951 Agronomy Road, Lexington KY 40511

August 13: Dark To***co Twilight Tour, 5:30 PM CST, Murray State Univ. West Farm, 336 Robertson Road N., Murray KY 42071

07/02/2026

Anybody have any extra burley plants? Grower in central KY needs 50-60 trays of anything with black shank resistance except KT219.

07/02/2026

Still need extra dark to***co plants?

Plants available:
PD7319 - 17 trays
DT558 - 40 trays
KTD17 - 35 trays

Contact William Elliot at 615-944-9123

07/02/2026

Upcoming To***co Field Days:

July 21, 2026: Corn-Soybean-To***co Field Day, UKREC, Princeton KY, 8 am to 1 pm

August 12, 2026: Bluegrass Burley Industry Tour, 2951 Agronomy Road, Lexington KY 40511, 9 am to 4 pm

August 13, 2026: Dark To***co Twilight Tour, Murray State University West Farm, 336 Robertson Road N, Murray KY 42071, 5:30 pm to 9 pm

06/17/2026

Anyone needing a few extra dark to***co plants? The UK to***co research program in Lexington has the following small quantities of dark plants available free of charge:
14 trays KTD17
21 trays NL Madole
21 trays KY171

Must pick up in Lexington.

Please contact Andrea Webb if interested: [email protected] or 606-271-8614.

06/17/2026

Incidence of Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus (TSWV) seems to be higher than normal this year in KY and TN. Normal infection rates for KY and TN are usually around 0.5% of the plants in a field, but this year infection rates may be more like 1 to 2% or even more in some fields. As this virus is transmitted by thrips that do not actually feed on to***co, their presence on the crop is too infrequent to justify foliar insecticide applications after transplanting to try to control thrips. Standard applications of imidacloprid (Admire or generics) or thiamethoxam (Platinum, Durivo, or generics) at transplanting will reduce infection by about 30%. TSWV symptoms include a burning or yellowing on one side of the plant, with burning often following secondary veins. Appearance of infected plants can look somewhat different in burley and dark to***co (see images below).

05/07/2026

Kentucky-Tennessee To***co Growers: We were notified this week that we have approval for a Section 18 emergency use exemption for Excalia fungicide on burley and dark to***co in Kentucky and Tennessee. The active ingredient in Excalia is inpyrfluxam and it is very effective against target spot disease. Under this exemption, Excalia can be used for the 2026 crop between May 15 and October 1, 2026. The use rate is 2 to 4 oz/A per application with a seasonal limit of 8 oz/A per season. No more than 3 applications can be made and no more that 2 applications can be made without alternating to another fungicide such as Quadris. Applications of Excalia should be at least 14 days apart and Excalia has a 14-day preharvest interval. Growers must follow all use instructions associated with this exemption and must have possession of a copy of the Section 18 label during mixing and application. Label can be found at:

02/16/2026

Reminder about summer to***co internship opportunity for interested college students. Deadline to apply is next Monday, February 23. Apply at:

This is a summer position. Duties would include to***co plot establishment (transplanting), plot maintenance (weeding, topping, sucker control), crop scouting, bloom evaluation, insect and disease evaluation, data collection and data entry, assistance in preparation of to***co plot tours and farm vi...

02/04/2026

Summer Internship opportunity in to***co research for college students! See below. Application deadline is February 23.