Is this a mold?

[JohnTraxler]

Hello there,
This is my first year growing Virginia tobacco. I have a problem drying tobacco leaves. Every time white dots appear on them, or green ones like that.
I dry tobacco in the attic where the window is open and the humidity is between 40-50%. I dry the leaves separately hung on a string.
Do you think it's mold? How to get rid of it? Is it the humidity or the temperature that is causing this problem?

 

[JohnTraxler]

The tobacco does not smell in any bad way, nor is it damp. Only this is on it.

 

[BrotherJ]

Something has definitely gone wrong and I would not smoke that leaf. I would bet the humidity up there in the summer time is significantly higher than you think it is. If that happens to your leaf, you must have a relative humidity of more than 70% in your attic for many hours. Relative humidity tends to go up at night and down in the day because of the temperature changes. Your attic is likely holding moisture. You need more ventilation. Do you have anywhere else you can hang them? (Putting a big fan in the window might help. It doesn't need to blow on the tobacco, just change the air in the attic quicker.)

 

[JohnTraxler]

I can hang the other tobacco leaves outside under the roofed pergola. Even if there was more humidity, the air should flow constantly, because the pergola has no walls.
I also have a small wooden shed, but the humidity is even greater there.
Unfortunately, the problem described above applies to all leaves.

 

[JohnTraxler]

I don't know if the attic retains moisture. When I was growing tobacco, I used to dry clothes there and it was always dry by the next day.
It's true that I have a lot of junk in the attic.

 

[deluxestogie]

The dark areas on the left leaf appear to be mildew (mold). The leaf on the right does not strike me as mold, unless you can see fuzz above those white dots. Rather, the white dots look more like areas of chlorosis or necrosis.

• Do the tiny white dots appear prior to harvesting?
• Do you know the variety name of the Virginia tobacco?
• How ripe (yellow) were the leaves, before you harvested them?
• Are you seeing similar problems on leaf from all stalk levels?
• Were they damp when harvested?

Bob

EDIT: Welcome to the forum. Feel free to introduce yourself in the Introduce Yourself Forum.

 

[BrotherJ]

Unfortunately, the problem described above applies to all leaves.

Does that mean that all of your other leaves already look like the ones in the photo?

 

[JohnTraxler]

Does that mean that all of your other leaves already look like the ones in the photo?

Yeah..Unfortunatelly

 

[JohnTraxler]

The dark areas on the left leaf appear to be mildew (mold). The leaf on the right does not strike me as mold, unless you can see fuzz above those white dots. Rather, the white dots look more like areas of chlorosis or necrosis.

• Do the tiny white dots appear prior to harvesting?
• Do you know the variety name of the Virginia tobacco?
• How ripe (yellow) were the leaves, before you harvested them?
• Are you seeing similar problems on leaf from all stalk levels?
• Were they damp when harvested?

Bob

EDIT: Welcome to the forum. Feel free to introduce yourself in the Introduce Yourself Forum.

1) Yes, bot not that visible, they are at the lowest part of tha plant.
2)https://www.semena.cz/tabak/47-taba...LVMM38GsoujoTyGYJwwQ3pZcx0qbC4Q4aAmOzEALw_wcB
3) The leaves were starting to turn yellow.
4) No, only at the lowest more yellow leaves.
5) They were not.

 

[JohnTraxler]

Does that mean that all of your other leaves already look like the ones in the photo?

But I still have some plants with leaves but I want to know, where the mistake is. You know I live in Czech republic, but there are some people who grow tobacco here. So I would like to have some too.
Everything was going great until this moment.

 

[GreenDragon]

Circulation / air flow is just as important as humidity to prevent mold. Dead soots will cause mold even in relatively dry conditions. You might also consider increasing the spacing between leaves.

 

[deluxestogie]

Tiny white spots on living leaves suggest either a plant virus (such as tobacco etch virus) or environmental damage from ozone or air pollution. While either of these damage the quality of the leaf, and make the leaves more susceptible to fungal growth, the leaf is still smokable. (Moldy leaf should not be used, regardless of why it molded.)

The seed listing does not identify the specific variety of Virginia. Since most Virginia type tobacco can be successfully sun-cured, that may be a good option for you. Wait for the remaining leaf to turn almost all yellow before harvesting, then hang it in the sun. Bring the strings of sun-curing leaf indoors if rain threatens.

Bob

 

[BrotherJ]

I agree with Bob. Sun-curing is probably the best option in your situation. Sun-curing is probably more suitable for bright leaf (virginias) anyway.

I've done some crawl space encapsulation (under houses). When wood molds, only the surface of it has to be wet, not the whole body of wood. The same applies to the leaf. If the surface of the leaf is wet for a time, it can mold, especially if there are many wet/dry cycles to accelerate the mold growth. Mold can grow at all temperatures comfortable for humans. The best solution for it is usually increased ventilation. That would be important for air-curing.

 

[deluxestogie]

Actively growing tobacco can be quite sensitive to certain air pollutants.

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More than 90% of the world’s children are breathing in toxic air. Check how your country is ranking.

www.greenmatch.co.uk

Bob

 

[JohnTraxler]

 

[JohnTraxler]

View attachment 43508

Those are the small dots on a leaf still attached to the plant at the lowest part.

 

[deluxestogie]

I can't specifically identify what has caused those brown spots, but it does look like some kind of environmental damage—exposure of the leaf lamina to a chemical that has damaged the cells.

weather fleck

Bob

 

[baccy]

The dark areas on the left leaf appear to be mildew (mold). The leaf on the right does not strike me as mold, unless you can see fuzz above those white dots. Rather, the white dots look more like areas of chlorosis or necrosis.

Does this white dots look like a mold too ?



On pictures they appear more prominent and bigger than they are. Should I keep these leafs together with the rest. Anyway they are just a few with such dots, so it's not a problem to chuck them.

 

[deluxestogie]

My impression is that those dots are not mold, but I can't really tell from the photos, even enlarged.

Bob

 

[BrotherJ]

Do these spots begin brown and then turn white as the leaf dries?