Once the tobacco seedlings are ready, they are transplanted either by hand or mechanically (figure 1), into the field(s) that the farmer has chosen. This is a delicate step because the seedlings will leave the comfort of the nursery to the harsh outdoor conditions. Once in the field, they will face numerous soil pests, or will be consumed by bigger predators such as deers and rabbits in particular (figure 2). The latter, in the presence of several tobacco varieties, tend to choose the most tasty ones.

During the planting period, several soilborne pests can quickly and severely attack tobacco plants, namely:
- fungi such as Botrytis cinerea, Rhizoctonia solani or Thielaviopsis basicola;
- nematodes belonging to the genera Pratylenchus and Meloidogyne..


These examples are not exhaustive, but they are essentially the main sanitation problems observed within a few weeks after planting tobacco in France. During this period climatic injuries (figure 3), and various chemical injuries, may also occur.

Figure 1	Figure 2	Figure 3

In addition to the diseases mentioned above, many other problems may occur during the plant recovery, such as diseases affecting tobacco also during cultivation. We advise you to consult the other sections of this application and in particular:
- Leaf abnormalities and lesions ;
- Stem lesions ;
- Root and collar abnormalities and lesions