IF LOWERSTALK LEAVES TURN YELLOW, IS A LEACHING ADJUSTMENT IN ORDER?

Nitrogen-deficient flue-cured plants in eastern North Carolina earlier this week.  (Photo: NCSU). Too late for lower stalk leaf? In some areas of North Carolina, a portion of the flue-cured shows an almost banana yellow color in the lower stalk, says Matthew Vann, N.C. Extension tobacco specialist. This indicates severe nitrogen deficiency. A nitrogen leaching adjustment will probably do very little to help these severely deficient leaves on the very bottom of the plant but will greatly help those in the top, Vann says. "The demand for nitrogen in the newly developing upper-stalk leaves greatly outweighs the need for nitrogen in the older, lower-stalk leaves. When we see a nitrogen deficiency at this stage of growth, it's almost too late for the older leaves to rebound." A crop may not "green up" from a nitrogen application immediately under the hot and dry conditions which N.C. had at the beginning of this week. "We need rain or irrigation to facilitate nitrogen movement from the soil solution into the root zone  for uptake."  Application methods are also a factor. "If a crop has not yet reached the layby stage, then use con-ventional practices to deliver the nitrogen," Vann says. "If the crop is bigger than lay-by stage, then high clearance sprayers should be used to apply liquid nitrogen materials directly to the soil that have been mixed with water to ensure a high delivery volume." For more information on this subject, go to Tobacco Growers Information Portal (tobacco.ces.ncsu.edu). A Report on the Crop: Field dispatches from USDA Crop Progress Report... BURLEY Kentucky--Farmers were able to make a good deal of headway in the fields last week thanks to accommodating weather. Planting progress had been stunted by consistent rain in the prior weeks. Tobacco setting quickened and at 54 percent sits just behind last year.  Tennessee--Growers had a mostly rain-free week to set tobacco. An estimated 45 percent of the burley crop had been transplanted by June 8. Virginia --Growers set out 72 percent of their burley by June 8.  North Carolina- Nearly half the crop was set by June 8. Near normal rainfall with above normal temperatures were reported in the mountain counties where most of the state's burley is grown. FLUE-CURED The cold wet spring shocked much of the flue-cured, and growth recovery has been slow. But last week was finally normal. Tobacco growers are struggling to catch up. In Granville County, tobacco is doing well except in wet areas of fields and some where nitrogen was lost, it was reported. Organic fields especially are showing loss of color, and farmers are working to get additional nitrogen applied. In Craven County, rains continue to delay field work. Tobacco struggles with excess water in soils that are too wet to take any corrective action. Webinar to replace N.C. field day: The Extension tobacco team in North Carolina will present a live webinar on the morning of July 16. It will replace the annual  field day originally scheduled for that date but canceled due to coronavirus. Extension ag economist Blake Brown will update the tobacco situation at the webinar and the rest of the team will join for a live question and answer segment. Video recordings of field trials will be available from July 13 on the NC Tobacco Portal. Other states may take the same approach. Watch this space for more details. . REPORT FROM OVERSEAS South America: Looking for help, the tobacco growers associations in Brazil and Argentina have plead with manufacturers to advance part of the price of the next tobacco to be deducted from the eventual sale price, according to a report from the International Tobacco Growers Association. Growers would use the revenue to finance wages, inputs and other expenses during this period.