Current and future (next 10 years) tobacco research at UKREC is primarily focused on two areas: harm reduction and labor reduction.  

Harm reduction research is focused on agronomic and curing practices that may reduce harmful constituents in cured leaf.  Harm reduction research has evaluated agronomic areas such as nitrogen rates, potassium sources, harvest timing, and pre-harvest antioxidant applications, as well as modified curing practices that may disrupt chemical reactions that result in harmful constituents in cured leaf.  

As labor costs make up nearly 60% of the costs of growing tobacco, labor reduction research is focused on individual labor operations during harvest and particularly during market preparation that can be streamlined or even partially mechanized to reduce labor and overall production costs without compromising cured leaf quality and integrity.  

Other tobacco research areas include variety development, pesticide residue monitoring and pesticide efficacy testing, fertility research, and transplant production research.