Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer encourages Kentucky tobacco producers to use Kentucky-grown plants to minimize the possibility of blue mold infection. Blue mold has been confirmed on tobacco in Florida.

“Transplants from Florida and other points south of Kentucky could carry blue mold spores,” Commissioner Farmer said. “Blue mold can't overwinter in Kentucky but has to be introduced, either through the air or from infected plants from south of Kentucky. Using Kentucky-grown transplants is an important step to prevent blue mold.”

There's still time to grow plants from seed in Kentucky or to contact a Kentucky farmer to grow plants for you, Commissioner Farmer said.

Kenny Seebold Jr., Extension professor with the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, said any transplants from Florida could carry blue mold spores. Plants grown in Georgia and Tennessee pose less of a threat, but Seebold recommends avoiding them.

Seebold said there is no imminent threat of blue mold in Kentucky tobacco at this time, but Kentucky producers should manage their operations to minimize the chance of blue mold becoming established. He said the long-term outlook for blue mold this year depends on the weather in the spring and summer and the extent of the outbreak further south.

To find tobacco plants grown in Kentucky, or to offer Kentucky-grown plants for sale, call toll free 1-888-567-9589. To monitor blue mold status in the United States, go to www.uky.edu/Ag/kpn/kyblue/kyblue.htm.