Procedures for the rapid screening of chemical products for control of pole rot of tobacco were developed. A leaf disk assay was developed using disks cut from mature leaves selected from greenhouse-grown plants (‘Delgold’). Leaf disks were placed in a glass Petri dish humid chamber. Leaf disks were first sprayed with the candidate product, and then they were sprayed with a suspension of Rhizopus arrhizus Fischer sporangiospores, the causal agent of pole rot. After three days of incubation at 30°C, leaf disks were rated for the degree of rot. A similar assay, using sections of wooden sticks to simulate curing kiln sticks and the kiln structure, also was developed. Chemicals providing a high level of protection in both assays were Acticide CS (octylinone) and Bravo (chlorothalonil). Several products (Bayleton, Botran, Dithane M-45, Dyrene, Mystox WFA, and Triton X-100) provided a high level of control in the disk assay, but they had intermediate or poor control in the stick assay. The surfactants Agral 90, Nonidet P-40 and Renex 36, the sucker control product Razor, and Pool Algicide also controlled rot of leaf disks by R. arrhizus. When potato dextrose agar was amended with these products and used in radial growth assays, the resulting ED₅₀ values generally reflected results of disk assays. When effects of products or sporangiospore germination were assessed, products effective in controlling rot in disk assays varied in their ability to inhibit germination and in their toxicity to spores.