Setting Tobacco 



After strong healthy plants with good root systems are developed 

 in the plant bed, they are then transplanted 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, depending upon the spacing. 



Transplanting tobacco to the field with a tractor drawn planter. 



The process of transplanting tobacco is done in several different 

 ways by different farmers over the state. Most tobacco growers today 

 use tractor drawn transplanters that will set one or two rows at the 

 time, others use one row horse drawn planters, and some of the smaller 

 growers still use hand planters to set their 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. How- 

 ever, a few farmers still follow the old back-breaking 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 

 Carolina each year ranges from about 400,000 to 450,000 acres, de- 

 pending upon the adjustments made in quotas under the tobacco control 

 program, which keeps the supply in line with demand. 



Cultivation 



Growing good tobacco is a highly specialized business which is 

 guided largely through experience and research. Tobacco is a clean 

 cultivated crop which requires a large amount of fertilizer, 800 to 

 2,000 pounds per acre, and much hard work. Cultivation of the crop 



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