Final tobacco trial transplanted!

Our trial site in Stokes County, NC with newly planted NC 196 flue cured tobacco plants. Photo: HJB

On Wednesday, May 5th, Anna and I traveled to Stokes County, NC to transplant our last on farm tobacco trial for 2010!  It's been a busy transplant season, and we have a lot of tobacco in the ground.

Here's a run down of our 2010 trials (in order of transplant):

1. Soil insecticide efficacy (wireworms, flea beetles, and aphids) - Border Belt Tobacco Research Station
2. Tobacco splitworm larval performance trials - Cunningham Research Station & Oxford Tobacco Research Station
3. Insecticide movement & longevity (2 trials) - Cunningham Research Station & Upper Coastal Plain Research Station
4. Aphid threshold revision trials - Cunningham Research Station, Upper Coastal Plain Research Station & Oxford Tobacco Research Station
5. Tobacco budworm management in seed production - Cunningham Research Station & On farm in Forsyth County
6. TSWV & Thrips flight timing trial - On farm at one location each in Craven & Duplin Counties
7. Tobacco streak virus management trial - On farm in Lee County
8. Lepidopteran (tobacco budworm and hornworm) management - On farm in Stokes County

In all, we have 19 tobacco trials this summer (6 at Upper Coastal Plain, 4 at Cunningham, 1 at Border Belt, 3 at Oxford, and 5 On farm).  


As you can see, we have a diversity of projects underway.  Some of the key questions we will be addressing in 2010 are the efficacy and longevity of transplant water applications of Coragen, testing additional novel applications of Coragen and Belt, and testing new, unregistered pesticides.  Master's student Monique Rivera will be continuing her work on the behavioral ecology of the tobacco splitworm (Phthorimaea operculella).  Doctoral student Richard Reeves will be heading up our pesticide movement and longevity trials as well as beginning his work on economic threshold revisions with aphids.

Newly transplanted tobacco plants in Stokes County treated with a simulated transplant water treatment of Coragen at 7 fl oz/acre.  Because tobacco setters can be difficult to calibrate for small plot work, we apply transplant water treatments in 2 oz of water immediately following transplant.

I'll be posting updates on these projects throughout the summer!