Research Accomplishment Reports 2007

2007 Kentucky Tobacco Production Guide

K. Seebold
Department of Plant Pathology

 

Project Description

Tobacco is an important part of Kentucky’s agricultural enterprise.  Changes in the tobacco industry have placed increased emphasis on farmers' ability to become more efficient producers and achieve greater yields per acre, factors which will allow them to maintain profitable enterprises in the future.  For many years, quality, research-based educational materials have been developed and published by extension specialists at the University of Kentucky to provide growers and county extension agents with up-to-date recommendations on production and management of tobacco.  However, this information had not been available in a single, easy-to-use publication for over 10 years.  Informal surveys of county agents across the Commonwealth indicated a need and desire for a comprehensive tobacco production guide developed by the University of Kentucky.  To address this need, a team of extension specialists from Agricultural Economics, Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, Entomology, Plant and Soil Sciences, and Plant Pathology was organized in 2006 to develop the 2007 Kentucky Tobacco Production Guide (KTPG).  The guide, released in early 2007, addressed all aspects related to production of both burley and dark tobacco, including economics, variety selection, transplant production, field preparation, pest management, harvesting, and curing.  The KTPG was distributed through Agricultural Communications to county extension offices, and at county meetings, agent trainings, field days, and at industry/commodity meetings.  A total of 2,500 copies of the KTPG were circulated over a two-week period throughout Kentucky, placing valuable information in the hands of Kentucky’s tobacco producers, along with growers in Indiana and Ohio.  The KTPG will be revised annually through 2008 and biannually from that point forward.

Impact

Kentucky’s tobacco growers were given a high-quality reference featuring up-to-date recommendations on all aspects of production, from beginning to harvest.  Having this information archived in a single publication makes the information more accessible to end-users, increasing the effectiveness of Extension efforts being put forth at the College and county levels.  The ultimate goal of this project is to provide an educational package that will help tobacco producers in Kentucky be the best-informed and most competitive in the industry.