LEAF NEWS
UNITED STATES Transplanting begins in the US LEXINGTON, KY.—Planting of the fluecured crops in Georgia and Florida were complete by May 1 thanks to favorable weather. In South Carolina. planting was estimated at 27 percent by the same date but was not as far along in North Carolina. Growers in Virginia had just started transplanting through
the end of April. According to USDA, Virginia flue-cured was four percent transplanted and burley and fire-cured were two percent transplanted. I n t he bu rle y belt, t he st ate agronomist in Kentucky, the leading burley state, said good weather had helped the state’s growers get into the field. “We have had a little planting, but I doubt we are up to five
CANADA
ITALY
Seeding Going Well
PMI Promises Continued Support to Growers
TILLSONBURG , ONTARIO —Most greenhouses in southern Ontario had been seeded by the end of March, said Mitchell Richmond, Team Leader for the Canadian Tobacco Research Foundation, which has alerted member growers of pests, fertility, and contamination issues to be alert for as seeds germinate and seedlings grow, ushering in the start of the 2019 growing season.
ROME—Philip
Morris Italia has made a strong commitment to promote the enhancement and sustainability of Italian tobacco cultivation. It is backing up its pledge with investments of up to 500 million euros for the purchase of the best tobacco leaf and for innovation in the supply chain. Eugenio Sidoli, Chairman, Philip
30 TOBACCO INTERNATIONAL APRIL/MAY 2019
percent yet,” he said. “So far, it has been the best start to a season we’ve had in some time.” He thinks plantings in Kentucky may be down 20 percent when all is said and done. Above: A planting scene near Raeford, N.C. Half the North Carolina flue-cured crop had been transplanted by the first week of May.
Morris Italia, said of the agreement, “We are proud to confirm our historic strategic collaboration with the national authorities for the sustainability of the tobacco chain. With the agreement signed today, we are committed to guaranteeing—together with the Italian Government—a sustainable future for about a thousand small and medium enterprises that represent a case of excellence in the European panorama.” A fundamental part of the agreement will be the application of PM Ita-
