Based on the "Teaching, Scientific Research and Development Center of Guizhou Agricultural College" and "the Tobacco Science Research Center of Guizhou University", supported by provincial key disciplines of Crop Science and Chemistry of Guizhou University, and integrating the discipline advantages of Guizhou University related to the tobacco industry chain, the Key Laboratory for Tobacco Quality Research in Guizhou Province was set up as a provincial and ministerial-level key laboratory in 2010, co-built by Guizhou Science and Technology Department, Tobacco Monopoly Bureau (Corp.) of Guizhou Province, Guizhou China Tobacco Industry Co. LMT, and Guizhou University. In 2013, it officially started its operation after passing the acceptance inspection of Guizhou Science and Technology Department.
The disciplines of the Laboratory include Crop Science, Agricultural Resources and Environment, Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, Plant Protection, Microbiology, and Quality and Safety of Chemistry and Agricultural Products. There are currently 28 researchers, including nine professors, 14 associate professors, five lecturers and experimentalists; 18 teachers hold Ph.D. degrees and eight hold master's degrees, and 14 are master supervisors, one member of the College Teaching Steering Committee of the Ministry of Education, one member of the National Tobacco Variety Approval Committee, one provincial "Hundred Innovative Talent", and one provincial Outstanding Young Talent.
Adhering to the sustainable development idea of "developing tobacco industry through innovations and features" and in light of critical, basic and common issues in the tobacco industry, the laboratory centers on the development direction of constructing the “Chinese-style cigarette” tobacco raw material system, and establishes three research directions of "tobacco quality genetic improvement", "physiological and biochemical basis for quality formation", and "biotransformation of quality chemical properties". After long-term accumulation, based on breeding and utilization of high-quality varieties, an organic whole of cigarette raw material quality improvement theory and technological innovation has come into being. The Laboratory offers master's and doctoral programs to support disciplines of Crop Science and Chemistry.
Adhering to the principle of “emphasizing features, developing priorities, improving standards, and serving the industry”, the Laboratory utilizes the discipline advantages of Guizhou University and the "major industry" advantages of tobacco to keep the development orientation of “establishing a foothold in the tobacco industry, training tobacco talents, innovating tobacco technology, and serving tobacco industry”. In addition, centering on critical, basic, and common issues in the tobacco industry, the Laboratory carries out theoretical and technological originality studies on the selection of high-quality breeds, the production of high-quality tobacco leaves, the quality improvement of cigarette raw materials, and cultivates high-quality, innovative, multidisciplinary talents in main tobacco business like tobacco leaf production and cigarette processing. The Laboratory has become a scientific and technological innovation base as well as a high-level talents cultivation base for the tobacco industry, providing theoretical support, technical support and intellectual support for the sustainable development of the tobacco industry.