CULTURE PRACTICE:
Success in tea production depends largely on the correct adoption of cultural practices. These cultural practices include plucking, pruning, pest & disease management, nutrient management. Over and above these practices water management also plays an Important role.
It is necessary to ensure continuous vegetative growth and for this pruning is very important. Pruning is an operation in which the bush is cut at a predetermined height periodically. Depending on the depth of cut prunings have different names viz. Medium Pruning, Light Pruning, Deep Skiffing, Medium Skiffing, Light Skiffing, Level Off Skiffing etc. Skiffing refers to lighter cut and pruning refers to deeper cut. Lighter the cut higher the crop in the following season. Pruning operation is normally carried out from November to early February.
Plucking is an operation in which tender shoots are picked up from the tea bush. It requires skljed hand. Crop depends to a great extent on plucking. Plucking induces new growth to follow and hence care should be taken in plucking. Plucking is the most expensive field operation.
Regular control of pest & diseases will check the loss of crop. There are large number of pests like Red Spider, Purple Mite, Scarlet Mite, Helopeltis, Thrips, Looper etc. and diseases such as Red Rust, Black Rot, Root rot etc. Unless these are regularly controlled by application'of pesticides and fungicides it will not be possible to obtaln economic yield.
Furthermore, weeds which are undesired growth in tea areas should also be controlled so that they cannot compete with tea for nutrients, There are large number of herbicides like Gramaxone, 2,4-D, Oxy fluorfen, Glyphosate etc.
Tea requires optimum water for growth. If there is excess accumulation of water in tea areas, growth will be affected. Hence, a proper drainage system is necessary to take out the water. Similarly during dry season, there is shortage of water for optimum growth and this can be replenished by sprinkler irrigation.
Balanced nutrition for tea plant can only ensure a good harvest. This is possible through application of fertilisers like N,P,K and other secondary and micronutrients perlodicaily. Organic manures are also applled to maintain the quality of soll.
-santanu dirial
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