This study was conducted to assess the impact of the tobacco budworm (TBW), Heliothis virescens, on the yield of flue-cured tobacco. Individual flue-cured tobacco plants (32 to 40 plants/treatment) were artificially infested with neonate budworm larvae at weekly intervals from 6 or 7 wk to 1 wk before topping (removal of the terminal flower bud). In 2002 and 2003, test plants were reinfested with 4- to 5-d old larvae if the larvae from the initial infestation were missing at 3 d after the initial release. In 2001, injury caused by the TBW had no effect on yield. In 2002, plants infested with larvae at 4 wk before topping had a 10% reduction in yield, while those infested at 5, 3, 2 and 1 wk before topping had 3 to 6 % lower yields than the uninfested check. In 2003, tobacco infested with budworms at 4 and 5 wk before topping had green leaf yields greater than 3% less than the untreated check. The tobacco infested at 7, 6, and 1-3 wk before transplanting had 1.4 to 5.1 % higher yields than the uninfested check. There was no relationship between yield and TBW damage in 2003.