h 



Tofcocco seed bed covered with mesh cotton canvas to protect young seedling from cold. 



'^i-j^s^M 





Tofcocco plants in the bed ready to be transplanted fo the field. 



field. It takes from 8 to 12 weeks frotr 

 the time the seed are sown until the 

 plants are ready to set. 



Setting Tobacco 



After strong healthy plants with 

 good root systems are developed in 

 the plant bed, they are then transplant- 

 ed to the field. The transplanting of 

 tobacco is usually started early in 

 April in the Southeastern part of North 

 Carolina and planting is continued in 

 the Piedmont and Mountain sections of 

 the State through the middle of June. 

 The plants are set 14 to 24 inches 

 apart in rows which are 3)2 to 4 feet in 

 width, and it takes from 6,000 to 9,000 

 plants to set an acre of tobacco, de- 

 pending upon the spacing. 



The process of transplanting tobac- 

 co is done in several different ways by 

 different farmers over the State. Many 

 of the larger tobacco growers use 

 tractor drawn transplanters that will 

 set two rows at the time, others use 

 one row horse or tractor drawn planters, 

 but most of the smaller growers use 

 hand planters to set thar crops. All 

 of these transplanters, whether tractor 

 or horse drawn, or hand planters, are 

 equipped to supply water to each plant 

 as it is set in the row. However, some 

 farmers still follow the old back-break- 

 ing practice of setting tobacco with a 

 short peg after a rain has wet the soil. 



The average number acres of flue- 

 cured tobacco planted in North Caro- 

 lina each year ranges from about 650,- 

 000 to 750,000 acres, dep«iding upon 

 the adjustments made in quotas under 

 the tobacco control program, which 

 keeps the supply in line with demand. 



to set approximately 64 acres of tobac- 

 co. Actually, many of these delicate 

 seed will fall on rough ground and die, 

 others will be killed by the cold weath- 

 er and some plants will be killed by in- 

 sects and disease. Therefore, the av- 

 erage grower usually sows about 1/3 of 

 an ounce, or one tablespoonful of seed 

 per 100 square yards of plant bed, and 

 he usually prepares about 100 square 

 yards of plant bed for each acre of to- 

 bacco ile intends to plant so that he 

 can be assured of having enough plants 

 to set his crop. 



The plant beds, which are sowed in 

 different sections of INorth Carolina 

 from December through the early part of 

 Niarch, are covered with mesh cotton 

 canvas eady in the spring before the 

 seed sprout, to protect the seedling 

 from the cold and frost. After danger 

 of frost, the cover is removed and the 

 seedlings are developed and toughened 

 so that they can be transplanted to the 



Transplanting tobacco 



th a mule drawn planter. 



