Sucker Control Performance in Dark Tobacco

Poor sucker control adversely affects tobacco yield and quality. Suckers serve as a sink for nutrients and dry matter that otherwise would go to the expanding leaves intended for harvest, resulting in lower yields. Hand removal of large suckers can cause leaf damage, and failure to remove suckers may result in spoilage during the curing process, resulting in lowered quality. Use of chemical sucker control measures used in burley production can produce lower yields or W1desirable cured leaf color of dark tobacco. These studies were conducted to compare the effects of recommended sucker control practices for dark tobacco with systems being adopted in the dark tobacco production are