Blank shank is a fungus that lives in the soil. When it infects a tobacco plant, it restricts the plant's ability to transport water from the roots into the plant. The plant wilts, yellows and dies. I think there are several reasons it's especially bad this year. One reason, he said, is that producers have been consolidating acreage for several years, and this has restricted their crop rotation options.
Black shank builds up in the soil of land planted to tobacco year after year.
Acreage consolidation has also meant that crop production equipment is being used on more acres, increasing the risk of spreading the soil-borne fungus. We also had more root-feeding insects this season. And anything that damages the plant's roots can promote the entry of black shank to those plants. For next year, Fowlkes is encouraging tobacco producers to rotate land as much as possible, to plant tobacco varieties that are resistant to black shank and to apply Ridomil fungicide before planting. It's during these years that your child starts to develop a sense of self.