Some sprayed for the insects as many as three times early in the season to knock down the numbers. But I think it's a limited number of acres that will be significantly affected. The hot, dry weather that settled over Tennessee is a life-saver for tobacco farmers. The weather has caused an outbreak of blue mold on the crop to all but disappear. If the weather turns rainy, the blue mold could reappear.
Blue mold is a fungus that attacks tobacco leaves, greatly lowering their quality.
It spread into Tennessee on imported plants from Florida this spring. But scientists had feared the worst for the tobacco crop, one of Tennessee's leading crops. Jim Neel, a beef specialist with the Agricultural Extension Service at The University of Tennessee, explains. About 460 pounds of this carcass are turned into lower-priced cuts of meat. Only 18.4 pounds of the steer carcass make T-bone steak.