Research into soil types and recommended fertiliser programmes, and chemical analyses of tobacco and soil, have been made by the Cawthron Institute in Nelson. The growers, the manufacturers, and the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research have a joint Tobacco Research Station. This station has bred varieties for local conditions and types resistant to black root rot. It also produces seed for the growers. There is a local breeding programme and, as well, new varieties from overseas are checked for suitability for local use. Fertiliser trials, disease-control trials, and drying experiments are all carried on. Experiments to prove the practicability of drying leaf in bulk are in progress. Small-scale trials in the 1960–61 season would appear to indicate that this should be possible.