Weather Affects Blue Mold Damage Snceialist Advises Ready Equipment "Check equipment and supplies tow in preparation for spraying md dusting tobacco plant bed* or the control of blue mold and lea beetles," advises S B Fenne. >lant disease specialist at VPI Sprayers and dusters should be >ut in good working condition il*o. he add* Materials should lot be left in the equipment, for on? periods because almost all praying and dusting material*) ire corrosive and will cause dam ige, Spraving and dusting materials eft ever from last year, if they qave been stored In a dry place. an be used this year. If you do not have adequate equipment and supplies for spraying or dusting, make arrangements to buy the equipment before it i* actually needed Ferbam and DDT should he on hand ready for quick use to prevent serious losses from blue mold and Injuries from flea beetles. Mr. Fciine says it is hard to make a blue mold disease fore cast very far in advance, because the severity of the disease de pends largely on weather condi tions during the plant-growing -ea: on. There are plenty of blue mold spore.* present in trie whole tobacco area waiting for favor able weather conditions, he notes. Blue mold always causes the greatest damage when there is a period of cloudy, foggy weather with cool night*. On the other hand hot. sunny weather makes conditions unfavorable for trie disease and frequently checks it.

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