Assam's Tocklai Tea Research Institute Develops Product To Boost Pest Control Efforts

Tocklai has also come up with two more drought-resident tea clones, which would be more productive and give better quality tea even in drought-like situations

GUWAHATI: The Tocklai Tea Research Institute in Jorhat, Assam has developed a product,  MAX Adjol Tea, designed to enhance the efficacy of pesticides used in tea cultivation. The product aims to mitigate the impact of climate change, which has led to increased pest attacks on tea plants due to rising temperatures and altered weather patterns.

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The new product, developed in collaboration with the Bharat Petroleum Cooperation Limited (BPCL), and which has already been patented, is an adjuvant that improves the performance of existing pesticides by more than 30 per cent. This significantly boosts pest control efforts, particularly against pests that have developed resistance to currently approved chemicals under the Plant Protection Code.

"Many pests have become resistant to the 35 chemicals allowed for use in tea plants, making them difficult to control," stated Somnath Roy, a senior scientist at Tocklai. "This new product is a significant advancement for the tea industry."

The commercially available adjuvant has demonstrated excellent results against major tea pests such as the tea mosquito bug, looper, and red spider. Importantly, the product is odorless, non-toxic, and environmentally friendly, making it suitable for organic farming practices. By improving pest management and reducing crop losses, the product will benefit tea planters and farmers across the region.

Tocklai has already held a workshop among small tea growers while demonstrating the new product.

To combat the effects of climate change Tocklai has already come up with climate-smart tea seed stock -TSS 2. The new seed variety can withstand high temperatures and can produce high-quality teas as well. This seed stock will help the tea industry to prepare itself for the negative effects of climate change.

Tocklai has also come up with two more drought-resident tea clones, which would be more productive and give better quality tea even in drought-like situations.

A clone is a vegetatively propagated plant from the stem. The Tocklai centre, set up in 1911, had released the first tea clone in 1949. Till now, 33 vegetative clones and 153 garden series have been released by the institute.

One of the new clones listed as TV 34, is an Assam-China hybrid with uniform growth habit and light green shoot. The clone is more tolerant to drought as compared to controls.

A dip in rainfall between 25 per cent and 49 per cent between January and March in the past few years have affected high quality first flush tea production in April-May. Scientists cited climate change as the main cause of rainfall variation, while a report by the Food and Agriculture Organisation has called for the planting of the drought-tolerant clone as an adaptation measure.

Tea growers in Assam and Bengal, contributing nearly 75 per cent of India’s total tea production, can now heave a sigh of relief about the declining rainfall, mainly due to climate change.

Last year, Tocklai has also started the process of releasing swarms of “assassin bugs” in tea plantations to devour pests of the tea plant.