Hot, dry weather exacerbating black shank in Kentucky tobacco

(Southeast Farm Press) In the past few weeks, plant pathologists at the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture have seen numerous cases of black shank.
Hot, dry conditions this summer likely are to blame.
Black shank is the biggest annual disease threat to Kentucky tobacco. The black shank pathogen attacks a plant’s roots and stem and causes dark-brown to black lesions. While the black shank pathogen is most active during wet, warm weather, dry weather can exacerbate the disease. Continued