Guwahati, Feb 6 () Climate change and global warming have adversely affected tea plantations in Assam in the last few years, experts said, adding that without irrigation, tea plantations are finding it difficult to survive.
P. Soman, senior agronomist and plant physiology expert, said that climate change is one of the top five challenges of the tea industry in Assam.
Soman, as a key speaker at a workshop at Golaghat, explained in depth “how changes in agronomy help micro irrigation technology to enhance crop performance”.
Tea plantations are highly climate dependent, he pointed out.
Speaking in the workshop, technical expert Vinay Radhakrishnan highlighted the importance of hydro pneumatic pumps of advanced technology.
The Tea Academy of North East Tea Association’s (NETA) has organised the two-day workshop on “Importance of Technology driven irrigation and fertigation in Tea” at the NETA headquarters at Golaghat.
Piyush Gattani, CEO of MD’s Organic (Distributor of Jain Irrigation Systems Ltd), highlighted the cost economics of installing drip irrigation with fertigation and automation in tea.
Senior tea planter from West Bengal, Shiv Saria, shared his broad experience and benefits he gained by using micro-irrigation in tea plantations.
Jain Irrigation Systems, for the first time in India, installed drip irrigation with fertigation and automation at around 100 hectares of tea plantation successfully in Assam’s Karbi Anglong.
Jain Irrigation is also working hand in hand with the tea plantation to introduce the latest precision micro-irrigation technology or need-based irrigation system.
In this system, the decision to irrigate and fertigate an agricultural field is derived based on inputs received from satellite field data, soil moisture sensors and other applications, NETA Advisor Bidyananda Barkakoty said.
He said that the two-day workshop was an eye opener to new possibilities of sustainable agricultural development and a way to deal with challenges faced by the tea farmers of Assam.
Assam, which produces roughly 55 per cent of India’s tea, has more than 10 lakh tea workers in the organised sector, working in about 850 big estates.
Besides, there are lakhs of small tea gardens owned by individuals.
The tea belts of Assam’s Brahmaputra and Barak Valley are home to more than 60 lakh people.
sc/pgh