RAIN PUTTING DAMPER ON PLANTING

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, March 6, 1993                   TAG: 9303070065
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Short
RAIN PUTTING DAMPER ON PLANTING
The wet weather could cause problems for Virginia farmers if it doesn't dry up soon, agriculture officials said Friday.
Potato planting and seeding of tobacco beds already are behind schedule, according to Jim Lawson, deputy state agricultural statistician.
"The big crunch in potato planting usually starts around March 1," Lawson said. "They're starting to get a little concerned about getting them in the ground."
Accomac County is one of the state's leading potato-producing areas, but agricultural Extension Agent Jim Belote said no spuds have been planted there yet.
"It's not critical at this point, but if it doesn't clear up it could put us behind," Belote said. "If we get dry weather the next week or 10 days, we should be pretty much on schedule. But we don't need any more water."
Lawson said Virginia harvested about 11,000 acres of potatoes worth $17 million in 1991, making it the state's No. 8 cash crop.
The situation is somewhat less critical for the state's No. 1 crop, tobacco. Lawson said about one-third of tobacco plant beds had been seeded by Feb. 26, down from 44 percent at the same time last year.
"We should be finished around mid- to late March," Lawson said. "Right now, the rain is more a hindrance than anything else. We can take delays up to a certain point."
Virginia tobacco brought in about $197 million in 1991.
Lawson said the rain also could delay land preparation for spring planting of soybeans and corn, and some wheat and barley in low-lying areas could be damaged by flooding and by farmers' inability to apply fertilizer.

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB