I 



INSTITUTE, PUSA, FOR 1917-18 47 



on this subject are being continued as it is expected to raise, 

 under conditions of intensive culture, - heavy yields of seed 

 no matter what the season may be. There is little doubt 

 that the sooner North Bihar becomes self-supporting as 

 regards Java seed the better. As the crop is not uniform 

 but consists of a mass of heterozygotes, differing widely in 

 root development, it is not safe to rely on seed produced 

 under quite different soil conditions. The result of grow- 

 ing seed outside Bihar might easily result in a gradual 

 change of type which might prove quite unsuitable to the 

 local soil conditions. 



The work on the selection of Java indigo is proceeding 

 as rapidly as circumstances permit. One of the early 

 selections, Type 15, is being grown on the large scale on 

 four estates. A number of others are being tested on a 

 field scale and reserves of seed are being accumulated. 

 Java indigo is practically self-sterile and almost all the 

 seed is obtained by means of cross-fertilization following 

 insect visits. These facts render selection work very diffi- 

 cult and the multiplication of promising types very slow 

 as only one kind can be grown for seed each year in the 

 Botanical Area. This difficulty has been met to some 

 extent by facilities granted by the proprietors and manager 

 of the Dholi estate. A small field has been lent in one of 

 the villages of this estate for indigo seed purposes and at 

 the present time two types can be multiplied each year. 



3. Tobacco. 



The demand for seed of Type 28, both for cigarette 

 purposes and also for general cultivation, continues to 

 increase. In addition to a large number of small indents 

 from all parts of India, three definite schemes of seed 

 distribution have now developed — in North Bihar, in 

 Burma and in the Central Circle of the United Provinces. 

 Seed sufficient for 4,000 acres of new cultivation was distri- 

 buted during the year. It is impossible to say how much 

 locally grown seed of this type was sown. 



In the Tirhut Division of North Bihar, the distri- 

 bution of seed has been undertaken by the Indian Leaf 



