Department of Agriculture Madras. Report of the Work of the Samalkota Agricultural Station for 1918-19

In the heavy clays of the delta where canes are cultivated in the midst of paddy fields, the sub-soil water table is near the surface during the paddy season and the root system cannot be expected to go deep enough to support the canes properly without propping. [...] Pirector of Agriculture, I CirclF, APPENDIX I. This station is situated on the southern bank of the Samalkota canal, from which it is irrigated, about half a mile from the Samalkota Railway station on the Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway and lies in the northern extremity of the deltaic area of the Godavari district, on the line of junction of that area with the lighter soils of the uplands. [...] From the commencement the main object held in view was the discovery of a more healthy variety of cane and its distribution to the ryots of the district, and by 1906 the discovery at Vizianagram of Red Mauritius, long the chief cane in the delta, among a lot of canes introduced by a former Collector, had been made and its distribution on a fairly large scale commenced. [...] Chosen for the purpose mentioned above, the farm area is in the main typical of the deltaic area, i. e. , the soil is a heavy alluvial clay with the usual properties of that soil. [...] Harvesting and the preparation of the raw-sugar is done by the coolies, the owner providing the mill and cattle and a cooly expert in boiling.