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TOBACCO KESEAKCH Advisory Committee. —Sir Theodore Eigg (Chairman), Messrs. F. B, Callaghan, L. J. Schniitt, H. L. Wise, W. K. Dallas, N. J. Adamson, E. M. Hunt, C. Paynter, F. A. Hamilton, B. Jenkins, N. Bowling, and B. Thomson (Director of Station). During the past year four meetings of the Tobacco Besearch Committee have been Tield. Beports presented by officers associated with the many aspects of tobacco research -were received and programmes of future work were considered and laid down. General matters connected with the development of the tobacco industry and the progress of the Besearch Station received attention. Climatic conditions during the past growing season have been extremely variable. Bainfall during the growing months was much below the average, January and February -together totalling only 1-69 in. The position was further aggravated by the unusual prevalence of strong south-west winds which further depleted the already limited supply •of soil moisture, as well as causing damage to some of the lower leaf. When rain did fall in March it produced a new growth, causing a delay in harvesting. The daily temperature range was unusually high. Although some day temperatures were high, night temperatures were low, bordering on frosts on several occasions. The Station •crop was irrigated twice during the season, and therefore soil moisture was not a limiting factor. The leaf is thick and somewhat harsh, and the percentage of bright leaf will not be high, but the yield should be above the average. The 1944-45 crop was a light one, only 10,795 lb. being produced from 13 acres. The research work this season, as in previous years, has been a co-operative effort •carried out jointly by officers of the Cawthron Institute and the staff of the Besearch Station. The Institute work has included tobacco-disease surveys, investigations into the control and spread of various diseases, chemical studies dealing with the intake of plant nutrients, the chemical composition of cured leaf, and the chemical analysis of leaf from the field trials at the Station. Soil surveys of the Waimea Plains have also been •continued. The Besearch Station has concentrated on the field side, which has included .all types of fertilizer investigations, variety trials, seed-production work, plant-breeding, .and mosaic investigations. Soil Sterilization In addition to the soil for Station requirements, a total of 316 yards for twentythree growers was steamed during the past season. \Most of this was used for the production of bed-raised seedlings. This is considerably more than twice the amount -treated the previous season, and indicates that growers are becoming increasingly alive to the advantages of steam-sterilized soil in the raising of healthy seedlings. Continued -wet weather during August made it difficult for some growers to get their soil sufficiently •dry for sterilizing. Had it not been for this, the quantity treated would have been greater still, several orders being cancelled for this reason. Fertilizer Experiments 1944-45 Season. —The trials were conducted in a season which was relatively cool and unusually wet with less than average sunshine. In an experiment to determine -the optimum quantity of fertilizer to use per acre the applications were varied from 800 lb. to 1,4001b. by intervals of 2001b. Best returns were obtained from 1,2001b. Although a further increase was obtained from 1,4001b., it was hardly sufficient to offset the cost of the extra fertilizer. Increase in yield appeared to be due mainly -to increased size of leaf, quality remaining fairly uniform throughout. This is a further ■confirmation of previous seasons' recommendations that an application of 1,200 lb. per acre is the most suitable for soils of the Station type. Where the proportions of nitrogen and potash in the fertilizer were varied, the lowest yield came from the plot receiving the least nitrogen. Increasing the nitrogen above 4 per cent, resulted in a falling off in leaf quality. Varying the percentage of potash had little effect on yield but a marked effect on quality, the plots receiving the

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