Abstract

The Guntur District with its good retentive soil and its average rainfall of 35 inches a year is congenial for the cultivation of tobacco on a commercial scale. Tobacco is, of course, grown successfully in many parts of India, but the variety that is specially suited for the manufacture of cigarettes is raised only in the Guntur District, where it is grown on an extensive scale for export to foreign countries. Cigarettes were introduced into India about seventy years ago and have now become very popular among all classes of people from the prince down to the peasant. It was in the United States of America that the fine yellow tobaccos suited for cigarette manufacture were evolved by the application of modern scientific principles and appliances. In the earlier days, all the cigarettes used in India were those of European manufacture. Their high cost due in great part to the heavy import duties naturally led to the installation of cigarette factories in India for manufacturing them cheap. But then, these factories required a supply of raw tobacco of high quality, which could not be imported owing to the heavy taxes. It was therefore found imperative to have Virginian tobacco grown in India so as to get a sufficient and cheap supply for purposes of manufacture. For this purpose, various tracts in India were explored and finally the Guntur tract was selected as the best suited for the cultivation of cigarette tobacco on a commercial scale. As long ago as 1921, experimental cultivation of Virginian tobacco was started in this District with the aim of evolving the best methods of cultivation, curing and production of the fine yellow grades of leaf suitable for cigarettes.

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