With increasing number of pest attacks in the tea plantation areas of Assam, the production of the commodity has been severely impacted, which might lower total tea output in the country .jpg) Tea output in Assam is likely to get affected this year due to severe pest attacks in the tea plantation areas. Assam is regarded as one of the largest tea producers in India. Therefore, damage caused during tea cultivation might lower the overall tea output in the country.“As Assam tea is in high demand among consumers across the nation, low production would lead to non-availability of the commodity. This is likely to pinch consumers hard as they would have to pay high prices for tea produced in the state,” says Jeevan Barua, director of Shivam Tea Estate, a mid-sized tea exporter in Dimapur, Assam.
It must be noted that production of tea in Assam had been high in the month of April 2010. However, there has been a drop in tea production in May and June and July too does not seem to be promising for Assam tea growers.
Reasons for low production
Pest attacks have been increasing due to several factors. Continuous rainfall in state has been one of the major reasons for multiple pests in the tea plantation areas. Tea planters, who used pesticides, were unable to lower the increasing number of pests due to the rainfall. Pesticides that were used in the soil were washed away due to heavy showers.
In this context Bimal Sarker, proprietor of A L Pvt Limited, a small-sized tea supplier in Tezpur, Assam, says, “Lack of proper sunlight has made the conditions favourable for pest attacks. Therefore, several tea cultivators in Assam have been forced to halt production, which has severely hit them and is expected to adversely affect the total tea output in India.”
Moreover, it must be noted that tea cultivators are permitted to use selective pesticides due to the maximum residue limit (MRL) norm set by the European Union as well as other countries, while exporting the commodity to foreign markets. Therefore, pesticides used by the tea cultivators proved to be ineffective on the pests.
Sabrina Mitchell |
