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Browse by Author: Lorena Lopez
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2025 Flue-Cured Tobacco Guide

By: Jeffrey Dorfman, Jonathan Phillips, Matthew C. Vann, Maggie James, Jeremy Machacek, Joseph Cheek, Loren R. Fisher, Luke Gatiboni, Charles W. Cahoon, D. Scott Whitley, Daisy Ahumada, Adrienne Gorny, Lorena Lopez, Clyde Sorenson, Grant Ellington, Kyle Bostian, Catherine LePrevost

This guide for growers, updated annually, provides information on production and pest management practices applicable to growing flue-cured tobacco in North Carolina.

Tobacco Budworms

By: Lorena Lopez

This Extension publication provides an overview of the tobacco budworm (Chloridea virescens), a common pest in flue-cured tobacco. It outlines the insect’s life cycle, behavior, and the types of plant damage observed during the growing season. The resource emphasizes the importance of regular scouting after transplant, and it presents economic thresholds. Management recommendations focus on insecticide applications when thresholds are exceeded, along with the role of natural enemies such as parasitic wasps and predatory paper wasps in regulating budworm populations.

Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus on Tobacco

By: Daisy Ahumada, Lorena Lopez Tobacco Disease Information

Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV), a member of the Orthotospovirus genus, was first described in 1915 in Australia and later confirmed as the causal agent of spotted wilt disease in the 1930s. Its global emergence intensified in the 1980s and 1990s, driven largely by the spread of western flower thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis), a highly efficient vector. TSWV was first detected in North Carolina in 1988 and became widespread by 1997, with average incidence reaching 10–15% in the Coastal Plains and severe crop losses reported. In the southeastern U.S., the primary vector in tobacco is the tobacco thrips (F. fusca), which, along with the virus's ability to infect over 1,000 plant species, contributes to its persistent threat to diverse agricultural systems.

Grasshoppers in Tobacco

By: Lorena Lopez

Several species of grasshoppers can cause foliar feeding damage in tobacco. They are typically most numerous in dry years and in fields adjacent to hay or weedy strips. Weed burndown or hay mowing can drive grasshoppers and other generalist insects into tobacco and increase feeding activity.

Tobacco Insect Management

By: Lorena Lopez, Clyde E. Sorenson

This publication, chapter 9 of the 2025 Flue-Cured Tobacco Information handbook, covers insect management in tobacco production.