SYSTEM IN WESTERN IM'IA 



Manure*. 



NICOTIANA 



Cultivation 

 Bombay 



district ;ui<l tin- ii.ljoining Baroda Territory, when- cultivation is extensive, 

 wells with salt water aiv common, and tin- wut.-r is us-d for irrigating the 

 tobacco, often \vith remarkable iiniiiun.il \\-\ln of special value 



on ur in the neighbour!*" r i di-nirt) and Pettad (Baroda 



'IVrnton ). For details regarding the manurial value of these salt wells, 

 consult Leather (AgrLLedg., 1895, No. 14). ' rktii^andsatisfactorily 



drained soil is best. On such land in Gujarat mild-flavoured tobacco of 

 good quality can be grown. A stronger tobacco with large, coarse leaves 

 -n>\vs best on medium clay loams, irrigated with sweet water or salt and 

 combined. In Gujarat, tobacco is rarely rotated with other crops, 

 jiiul it is claimed that the longer the soil is under the crop, the better the 

 produce. 



The seed-beds should be prepared on elevated ground and under tree- 

 shade. In villages which grow a large area of tobacco, a piece of ground 

 is usually set apart as a common nursery. The bed should be carefully 

 prepared. The burning on the surface (before the rains set in) of refuse, 

 straw, brushwood or cow-dung improves the mechanical condition, the 

 ashes manure the soil, and the heat kills weeds and insects. After burning 

 (ruling), goat manure should be well mixed with the soil, and a fine tilth 

 obtained by hand-digging. The seed (mixed with ashes or fine sand) is 

 sown in July, one ounce to one hundred square feet of seed-bed. The beds 

 require protection from heavy rain, and should at first be lightly watered 

 by hand. Weeds must be removed and the seedlings thinned out. The 

 seedlings are ready for transplantation when they have four leaves and are 

 3 or 4 inches high. As soon as possible after the harvesting of the 

 previous crop the stems and roots should be grubbed up and burned. The 

 field is ploughed soon after the monsoon has set in, and again frequently 

 between June and August. Twenty-five to thirty cart-loads per acre of 

 well-rotted farm-yard manure should be applied, after the field has been 

 ploughed several times. A better practice is to fold sheep on the fields 

 intended for tobacco. The mud from village tanks is also considered good. 

 Before planting the young seedlings, the field is levelled with the samdr, 

 then lined and cross-lined with the gisle. A seedling is planted carefully 

 at each angle made by the intersecting lines, and a cloudy afternoon is 

 usually chosen. Frequent watering is required. As soon as the young 

 plants have made a fair start hoeing should begin, and when the flower- 

 buds begin to open they should be removed, and with them two to four Pruning, 

 of the youngest leaves. About ten to fourteen leaves should be left on 

 each plant. The removal of the flower-buds is followed by the appearance 

 of side branches known as " suckers," and these also should be regularly 

 removed. 



On a stiff clay loam soil (besar), tobacco is a dry crop, but as a rule in 

 Gujarat it is irrigated more or less according to the kind of tobacco to be 

 manufactured. Irrigation ordinarily begins early in November. Twenty 

 days after the first watering a second is given, and afterwards others at in- 

 tervals of twelve to sixteen days until the leaves are ripe, usually about the 

 middle of February. In Gujarat the leaves are left on the plant till they 

 are decidedly yellow. Sometimes the whole plant is cut down, but the 

 usual method is to strip off the leaves one by one from the stalk with a 

 small bent sickle. 



[Cf. Beyts, Gujarat Ayri., 1876, 45-8; Voeh-ker, Improv. Ind. Agri., 1893, 

 272-4; Mollison, Textbook Ind. Agri., 1901, iii., 236-45; Evpcr. Farm Rept*. 



801 51 



Transplantation. 



Manure. 



Crop. 



Seasons. 



Him*. 



