A survey on the conditions for harvesting and curing Virginia tobacco was conducted amongst members of the Agronomy Study Group of CORESTA in 1993. Fifty-two questionnaires reporting the situation in 42 countries were returned. Overall, the participants were spread as follows : Europe & Middle East : 22; the Americas : 19; Africa : 8; Asia & Far East : 11. 90% of the participants refer to filler tobacco and 65% to aromatic grades. Harvesting is done mainly manually, and most often through 6 or 7 primings. Maturity problems are mentioned by 81% of the participants, with a high incidence for 21% of the participants. Climatic conditions are the main cause for immaturity, followed by lack of irrigation and excess of nitrogen. Bulk barns are in slightly more frequent use than traditional barns; oil comes first as source of energy, followed by wood; gas is reported as frequently as wood (44 vs. 42%), but less used in practice. For 90% of the participants, yellowing is the more critical stage of curing. The most frequent curing incidents are, in decreasing order : green fixing, browning and sponging. This survey did not bring out any novel agronomical or technical problem, but helped in ranking the various causes of curing incidents and in stressing the areas in which research is to be completed to improve production.