Balanced and Adequate Fertilization is Essential to Improve Tea Yield in North Bengal
Tea is a major cash crop of West Bengal. The famous "Darjeeling Tea" is grown in the northern hilly parts of West Bengal, which is the most important export earner of the state. However, the low productivity trend across north Bengal gardens have become a matter of concern. Statistics reveal that production has gone down in at least 10 major gardens over the last few months. According to Terai Indian Planters Association, productivity has gone down to as low as less than 600 kg per hectare per annum in some gardens. The Terai Indian Planters' Union and the Indian Tea Planters' Association have appealed to the Tea Board of India to find ways to tackle the problem of poor productivity. There are quite a few factors responsible for low average yield of tea in North Eastern India. Large area under old tea (above 40 years age) with high vacancy, poor bush frame and low plant population; slow rate of replantation; high water table and lack of suitable outfall for quick disposal of excess water; erosion in hilly area and lack of proper adoption of agrotechnology. However, another very important factor, which is affecting yield, is lack of site-specific nutrient management with proper emphasis on secondary and micronutrients. Nutrient management is identified to have 20% percent contribution towards potential yield of tea, which is only next to pruning/tipping/skiffing/plucking that have 25% contribution towards potential yield.

North Bengal soils have a number of nutrient related problems such as, deficiency of potassium (62% of 14,092 soil samples showed low potassium status in a survey conducted by the Department of Agriculture, Govt. of West Bengal), high phosphate fixation potential, deficiency of sulphur, boron and in some areas magnesium.

However, nutrient application in most major gardens is based on recommendations for large areas, for example Terai region or Doors region. Unfortunately, gardens in these vast areas have different slopes and different native nutrient contents and a general recommendation is inadequate to address the nutrient related problems of each individual garden.

In this area one can also find large number of small tea growers (less than 150 acres) who are not traditional planters. These small tea growers have very little understanding towards the importance of balanced and adequate fertilization for improving yield and quality of tea. Naturally nutrient management in these gardens are extremely inefficient and inadequate to sustain yield and quality. Besides, skipping of one or more nutrient application for a year, without any knowledge of native status of the nutrient(s), is a frequent phenomenon. Soil testing of individual garden is not usually done. Whenever done, testing is confined to N, P and K. Under such situation, it is expected that yield of tea in the region will decline over the years.

To improve tea growers perception towards site-specific nutrient management, PPIC-IP, in association with Sriram Fertilizers & Chemicals Ltd., recently organized two small tea growers meet. Finer points of nutrient management in tea, including the importance of adequate and balanced fertilization to improve quality and yield of tea were strongly stressed in these meetings. Importance of soil testing of individual garden and nutrient application according to native nutrient status and yield target was clearly explained to the growers. Growers were urged to follow the established field practices, besides adequate nutrient application, to improve productivity in their gardens. PPIC-IP is currently working with the fertilizer industry to improve awareness among tea growers about improved nutrient management for better yield and profit.