& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Modernising tea production techniques

M.A. Nasir
WE know that tea is a stimulating drink. But only a few of us are aware of its medicinal values. And more dishearteningly, fewer still contemplate on how our land has been blessed with the natural conduciveness to tea production - and how it is neglected. In accordance with tea's important contributory' role, prospects and status, proper assessment for improvement of yields, quality, improved maintenance techniques, etc. does not appear to have ever been carried out.
Bangladesh Tea Research Institute (BTRI) at Srimangal, Moulvibazar conducts research and development activities on tea. Its activities are overseen and controlled by the Tea Board. It's a remarkable matter that no research has been done on tea, though it s one of the top agricultural products of Bangladesh. Improved cultivation practice of an agricultural plant /crop can never be discovered unless experiments covering various aspects of cultivation practices are made. Almost all agricultural crops, even of lesser economical importance than tea, have research carried out on them but tea remains uncared for despite the existence Tea Research Institute and Tea Board.
There is not a single university approved expert / guide in BTRI to enable students to conduct research on tea culture. In other words, our tea culture is yet to experience scientifically improved techniques to change / replace the century old practices of tea cultivation. Many of the techniques presently being employed are out of date and need improvement.
Almost no one is aware that, in 1974, a tea garden assistant manager of the then M/S James Einlay & Co Ltd. introduced the process of'cleft grafting' as a method to quicken vegetative propagation. The said person discreetly undertook the experiment within the company's premises and kept the practice undisclosed till a convincing result was observed. And finally, when he did exhibit the envisioned results, the process was welcomed, recognised and used by tea estates in vegetative propagation. The sad part is that nowhere in a formally' published document has it been recorded that the assistant manager (yours truly) made this significant contribution to the local tea industry'. I cannot help believing that even a small initiative like this from BTRI would have, by now, encouraged a lot more improvement in the tea arena.
I am optimistic about the prospects of substantially increasing our tea yield through promoting awareness of modern and suitable scientific techniques and practices, which should replace the existing century old operations. It has to be understood that imported techniques cannot do
much good on our soil. Thorough studies will need to be undertaken to ascertain the holistic plant behaviour with reference to the ecology' of the tea growing areas. A plant does not behave in the same manner in all the locations; it responds to the change of location and climate. So we need to have our very own sophisticated way of doing things, which will be supported by empirical information derived from practical experiments.
I strongly suggest that research work be carried out to identify the most suited type of crop production management, namely (a) manuring (b) pruning (c) plucking, etc. Unfortunately, the tea companies individually do not run R&D set-ups, and for obvious reasons, the management will not risk their cultivation policy in absence of concrete research based findings and best practices. I list just a few of the antiquated operational techniques currently in practice (with scope for assessment), along with some suggestions.
Existing Practices and Need for Change
(1) Manuring: Hygroscopic urea fertilizer is still used in some tea growing slopes and tillahs covered with mass of tree litter by broadcasting method because we all are not aware that urea is designed to broadcast only in muddy soil being ploughed to avoid its loss in contact with air;
(2) Pruning: It needs corrections in accordance with our climate, topographic as well as vegetative growing habit of the plant. Factors like availability of sunlight, soil condition, slopes, mode of vegetative growth, etc., are to be addressed in the field trials. After cutting (pruning) the top of young shade tree plant, cut surface is presently sealed with cow-dung and wrapped with polythene - which is simply wrong;
(3) Plucking: It needs overhauling. Height of capping, i.e. arresting the vertical growth of tender shoots (soft as well as weak), known as tipping, in deep pruned areas needs adjustment as per growing habit of trees in particular areas considering the aspects of slope, flat, tillah top, etc. It should not be applied to a section which comprises a big area. A section having many acres experiences different growing conditions because of different aspects of slopes light, shade etc., and so it needs adjustments considering the GN ratio of the carbohydrate manufacturing process in the foliage.
Without involving a huge budget, an area of tea plantation can be brought under trial in order to compare the yield with an identical area receiving conventional century' old practices of cultivation. It is my personal experience derived conviction that the yield differential will be in the range of 20% or above!
The writer is an ex-tea planter.