NC 960

NC 960 is a commercial flue-cured tobacco cultivar, only the second on the market to possess unique genetic combinations conferring very high levels of black shank resistance while also carrying plant genetics permitting high yield ability. The yield also exceeds that of K346.

Characteristics

Under some conditions, NC 960 may also produce a lighter-colored style of cured leaf relative to NC 1226, which may be desirable for some purchasers of U.S. tobacco.

Disease Resistance

• Black shank, race 0: high
• Black shank, race 1: high
• Tobacco mosaic virus: susceptible
• Granville wilt: resistant (superior to NC 1226)
• Root-knot nematode, races 1 and 3: resistant
• Cyst nematode: resistant
• Potato virus Y: susceptible

Cultivar Development

NC 960 is a cytoplasmic male sterile (Cms) F1 hybrid produced by pollinating Cms parental inbred line NCTG61Wz with pollen of male parental line NC1562.  The Cms version of NCTG61Wz was produced by backcrossing the nuclear genome of the fertile version of NCTG61Wz into the cytoplasm of Nicotiana glauca. The Cms version is maintained by simple pollination with pollen from the fertile version. The pollen parent NC1562 has the pedigree DH92-2770-40/K326 and is also the pollen parent of popular flue-cured hybrid NC196.

How to Get NC 960

Seed for research and breeding purposes are available from the breeder:
Dr. Ramsey Lewis (rslewis@ncsu.edu)

Acquiring seed will require a Materials Transfer Agreement between NC State and the interested party. NC State will consider proposals for non-exclusive seed production and marketing license agreements from tobacco seed companies interested in handling NC 960.