14 September 2005
Blue mold was reported in Breathitt County, Kentucky near the town of Quicksand. Sporulating lesions were spotted in a University of Kentucky research plot. The incidence was around 10%. The NAPDFC will fold this location in the the Northern Kentucky forecast area.
Blue mold was reported in Hampshire County, MA near the town of Hadley. Two generations of lesions were observed. The field was being cut at the time of observation. Therefore, the risk of further infection from this source is quite low. Nonetheless, this location will be included in our current MA source for forecasting purposes.
26 August 2005
A new case of blue mold has been reported in Monticello, Kentucky. Monticello is in Wayne County. The blue mold was found in a two acre field on 8/24/2005. Disease was scattered throughout the field and actively sporulating lesions were located primarily on the upper canopy of infected plants. The crop in question had been treated with Actigard 4 to 6 weeks prior to finding blue mold. This new source will be included with the Rickman, TN source due to proximity.
24 August 2005
A new case of blue mold has been reported in Zionville, North Carolina on NC2002 tobacco. Zionville is in Watauga County. The blue mold was spotted just after topping as isn't expected to have a significant impact. This source location will be combined with the Abingdon source for forecasting purposes due to proximity.
17 August 2005
A new case of blue mold has been reported in Scottsville, Kentucky on burley tobacco. Scottsville is in Allen County. Diseased plant were located primarily in shaded areas of the field and actively sporulating lesions were hared to find. The NAPDFC will fold this location in the the Northern Kentucky forecast area.
The NAPDFC has also received a report that the outbreak in Monroe County, KY has worsened.
8 August 2005
Seven new cases of blue mold have been reported to the NAPDFC.
Blue Mold was reported in Jefferson County, Indiana near Canaan. Active sporulation was present in much of a 10 acre field and was mainly present on lower leaves. This source will be combined with the Northern Kentucky source for forecasting purposes due to proximity.
Blue Mold was reported in Clinton County, Kentucky near Albany. Disease levels are low, but actively sporulating lesions were observed. This source will be combined with the Rickman, Tennessee source for forecasting purposes due to proximity.
Blue Mold was reported on burley tobacco in Larue County, Kentucky near Hodgenville. Actively sporulating lesions were observed, but disease was limited to shaded areas of the field. This source will be combined with the Northern Kentucky source for forecasting purposes due to proximity.
Blue Mold was reported on burley tobacco in Barren County, Kentucky near Glasgow. No further information is available on this source at this time. This source will be combined with the Northern Kentucky source for forecasting purposes due to proximity.
Blue Mold was reported on burley tobacco in Adair County, Kentucky near Columbia. Actively sporulating lesions were observed. No further information is available on this source at this time. This source will be combined with the Northern Kentucky source for forecasting purposes due to proximity.
Blue Mold was reported on burley tobacco in Monroe County, Kentucky near Topkinsville. Actively sporulating lesions were observed. No further information is available on this source at this time. This source will be combined with the Rickman, Tennessee source for forecasting purposes due to proximity.
Blue Mold was reported on TN97 tobacco in Owsley County, Kentucky near Booneville. The blue mold was found on 8/5/2005 in a one acre field. Incidence of disease was less than 10% and the number of older lesions suggest that the first occurrence was at least two weeks ago. Sporulating lesions were found in shaded areas of the field. This source will be combined with the Northern Kentucky source for forecasting purposes due to proximity.
3 August 2005
A new case of blue mold has been reported in Loveville, Maryland. Loveville is in St. Mary's County. It is through that the infections have existed for 1-2 weeks. The percentage of plants infected is low with infected plants located mostly along a shaded wood's edge. The weather has been hot and dry recently with drought conditions. This trend is expected to continue for a few day limiting the potential of local disease spread. No neighboring farms have shown blue mold infection.
1 August 2005
A new case of blue mold has been reported in Burnsville, North Carolina . Burnsville is in Yancey County. Blue mold was reported and confirmed on July 29th in a four acre field. Essentially 100% of the field was infected with 2-3 generations of lesions present with heavy sporulation in the bottom quarter of the plants. It is estimated that the date of first occurrence was the week of July 4th. The field had been treated with Ridomil Gold at 1 pt./acre, pre-plant, with no foliar fungicides being applied. This new source will be folded into the Leicester, NC source for forecast purposes due to its proximity.
27 July 2005
A new case of blue mold has been reported in Waynesville, North Carolina . Waynesville is in Haywood County. The blue mold was found on Burley varieties in research plots at Lake Juneluska at the Mountain Research Station. These small plots are for research, so no preventative fungicide sprays have been applied. The infection appears to have been present for about 10 days. This new source will be folded into the Leicester, NC source for forecast purposes due to its proximity.
25 July 2005
A new case of blue mold has been reported in Cambridge, Wisconsin. Cambridge is in Dane County near the Madison. No specific details about the infection have been given to the NAPDFC at this time. Despite this fact, the NAPDFC will begin issuing forecasts for the Cambridge, WI source starting 7/25/2005. Our Canadian growers should be on the lookout. This new Wisconsin source puts many Canadian tobacco production areas downwind and more likely to receive live spores via atmospheric transport.
22 July 2005
Five new cases of blue mold have been reported to the NAPDFC.
Blue Mold was reported in Glen Dean, KY on July 5th. Glen Dean is in Breckinridge county near our Cecilia source. Few sporulating lesions were observed. This source will be combined with the Cecilia source for forecasting purposes.
Blue Mold was reported in Lexington, KY on July 20th. The infection is light, but most lesions are sporulating. This new Lexington source will be part of the new Northern KY forecast location.
Blue Mold was reported in Berry, KY in Harrison County on July 20th. Multiple generations of lesions were observed. Active sporulation is occurring on younger leaves. This new Berry source will be part of the new Northern KY forecast location.
Blue Mold was reported in Gretna, VA in Pittsylvania County on July 20th. Some control sprays have been applied in some locations with an as of yet unknown effect. Multiple generations of lesions were observed. This source will be combined with the Reidsville, NC source for forecasting purposes.
Blue Mold was reported in Meadows of the Dan, VA in Patrick County on July 21st. Infection is very mild and fungicides were applied for target spot. This source will be combined with the Reidsville, NC source for forecasting purposes.
20 July 2005
A new case of blue mold has been reported in Mars Hill, North Carolina . Mars Hill is in Madison County near the TN/NC border. Two fields of burley tobacco, divided by a wooded area, had blue mold lesions. While the amount of infection is relatively light (8-10% of the field), infection on the bottom leaves of some plants was so progressed that leaves were heavily necrotic. Otherwise, infection is low and is just starting to sporulate. The grower had made one application of fungicide before noticing blue mold lesions. The NAPDFC will fold this source location in with the trajectory run from Leicester, NC.
Due to the lateness of the season, and the widespread outbreak of blue mold in the US, Uvalde, Texas and Pinar del Rio, Cuba have been dropped from the forecast rotation.
18 July 2005
Three new cases of blue mold have been reported to the NAPDFC.
Blue Mold was reported in Southwick, Massachusetts on July 15th. Only a few primary lesions were found, suggesting that infection occurred recently. The NAPDFC will begin to issue forecast for this location.
Blue Mold was reported in Reidsville, NC on July 15th. Very few plants with spores were found suggesting that this is both a new and weak source. There is approximately 50 acres of tobacco planted in the immediate area. No symptoms have been observed in nearby fields. No information on control measures has been given. The NAPDFC will begin to issue forecasts for this location.
Blue Mold was reported in Leicester, NC (northwest of Asheville) on July 17th. It has been estimated that two cycles of sporulation have occurred, indicating that infection occurred around three weeks ago. Control sprays have been applied, but no words has been received on their effectiveness. The NAPDFC will begin to issue forecasts for this location.
13 July 2005
A new case of blue mold has been reported in Abingdon, Virginia. Abingdon is in Washington County near the VA/TN/NC border. Active blue mold was discovered on burley tobacco on 7/11/2005. Lesions were actively sporulating with multiple generations present suggesting that blue mold may have been present for several weeks. The NAPDFC will begin forecasting for the Abingdon source Wednesday, July 13th and continue through the remainder of the growing season.
11 July 2005
A new case of blue mold has been reported in Rickman, TN. Rickman is in Overton County near Livingston. Ron Johnson, the Overton County extension agent, reported blue mold on 7/7/2005. The infection was officially confirmed on 7/8/2005. Active sporulation was observed on several plants. It appears that blue mold has been established in the field for several weeks, with older lesions having been observed. The NAPDFC will begin forecasting for the Rickman source Monday, July 11th and continue through the remainder of the growing season.
8 July 2005
A new case of blue mold has been reported in Lancaster County, PA. Actively sporulating lesions were observed on burley and type 41 plants in an outdoor float bed. The NAPDFC will begin to issue forecasts for this location, running trajectories from the town of Kirkwood, PA. The infection is still new and in its early stages. As a result, the NAPDFC is considering this a weak source until more information from the area is obtained.
Additionally, due to lack of activity and the appearance of more pressing sources in the US, the NAPDFC is discontinuing forecasts for the Tepic and Tapachula, Mexico locations.
1 July 2005
The NAPDFC has received its first report of blue mold in the US. Blue Mold was reported in Cecilia, Kentucky. Cecilia is in the north-central part of the state. A grower near Cecilia reported blue mold like symptoms on or about June 27th. Blue Mold was officially confirmed on June 29th. Infected plants appear to has gone through at least 2 sporulation cycles and a significant number of lesions were present. The NAPDFC suspects that infection took place in late may or in the first two weeks of June. We car currently investigation archived meteorological data in an effort to pinpoint the exact time and source of infection. The NAPDFC will begin forecasting for the Cecilia source Friday, July 1st and continue through the remainder of the growing season.
23 May 2005
According to reports received here at the North American Plant Disease Forecast Center, the traditional locations for blue mold overwintering - specifically, Cuba and Mexico- are only weakly infected with blue mold if infected at all. As a result, the weak sources have meant a slow early season spread for blue mold thus far.
The NAPDFC has compiled an Early Season Blue Mold Analysis report that breaks down all of this seasons transport events that had the potential to impact the US. Thus far, no reports of blue mold have been reported in the US.
[Return to Blue Mold Forecast Homepage]