Black Shank is a major problem in tobacco. For the last 7 years I have been here, it seems to be getting a little worse. We can put some of the blame on weather, varieties, or field conditions. Another possible culprit may be nematodes. Even with tolerant varieties, planting on time, and the weather, something is not right. This fall I will be looking to take and get nematode samples in fields that have had a had Black Shank. We will be looking at levels of all nematode types, lesion, sting, cyst, and others. The fall is the best time for the best results – late August or early September when plants are at their maximum production. Nematodes have not been a large problem here in the past but checking to see what the population in the fields are cannot hurt anything.