INSTITUTE, PUSA, FOR 1916-17 35 



ever, were almost invariably accompanied by requests for 

 larger quantities of seed true to type. A large indent came 

 from the Government of Java. Only a fraction of the seed 

 asked for could, however, be supplied in spite of a fairly 

 satisfactory yield last harvest. An effort is being made this 

 year to increase the area under Type 3 so as to meet the 

 more important indents which have had to be postponed. 



4. Indigo. 



The results so far obtained on the improvement of indigo 

 in Bihar and the work in progress on this crop were summed 

 up in the Third Report on the Improvement of Indigo in 

 Bihar which was published as Bulletin No. 67. Since this 

 appeared, some further results were described in a paper 

 on the economic significance of the root-development of 

 agricultural crops read at the Indian Science Congress at 

 Bangalore last January. 



One of the problems relating to the indigo industry, 

 namely, the seed supply, has continued to receive attention 

 at Pusa. The conditions found to be necessary for seed pro- 

 duction under Bihar conditions are the following : (1) the 

 type of plant selected must be a rapidly-growing, early- 

 flowering, bushy form with a large proportion of the lateral 

 roots comparatively near the surface, (2) the seed must be 

 sown in early August on high-lying, well-drained land in 

 good condition, (3) the surface soil must be constantly culti- 

 vated during the monsoon phase to promote abundant aera- 

 tion of the roots of the young crop, (4) after the hathia, the 

 crop must be deeply cultivated and till seed formation is 

 complete, any rain crusts formed must be broken up, (5) the 

 plants must be well spaced from the beginning so that they 

 can branch freely and the flowers formed can be visited by 

 bees, (6) the cultivation should be so conducted that flower- 

 ing takes place between the middle of October and the end 

 of November by which date the plants should be fully loaded 

 with pods. Proceeding on these principles, a seed crop of 

 over sixteen maunds to the acre was obtained last season, 

 the highest yield so far obtained at Pusa. 



