NATIONAL SEMINAR On Plant Protection in Tea: Recent Advances February 26-27, 2015 Programme & Abstracts Orgasised by TOCKLAL Tea Research Association Tocklai Tea Research Institute Jorhat, Assam India In-association with Tea Improvement Consortium National Working Group on Plant Protection in TeaNational Seminar on Plant Protection in Tea, 26-27 Feb., 2015 NSPPT/O-11 Weeds of tea fields and their control Jayanta Deka and Iswar Chandra Barua DWR-AAU Centre, Department of. Agronomy, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat -785 013, Assam Tea is the most popular and cheapest beverage in the world and it can be termed as the smart beverage keeping in view the health benefits derived from drinking tea. Only six countries viz. India, Sri Lanka, China, Kenya, Indonesia and Vietnam together alone average 41 per cent of world production and 85 per cent of world export. India produces about 23 per cent of the world’s tea and accounts for about 21 per cent of the world’s consumption which are the highest globally. All activities in tea sector including cultivation, processing and marketing are well organized, thus the tea commerce has an advantage over general agricultural farming. Like other agricultural and horticultural crops, tea also needs optimum agronomic care fora high and sustained productivity. Among the critical factors limiting optimum productivity from tea plantations, weeds are counted as one in the top of the list. Intensity of weed problem is primarily governed by agro-climatic conditions, type of tea culture, general management conditions, specific weed management schedule etc. Dominant weed flora in young tea in Assam comprises Scoparia dulsis, Borreria hispida, Mimosa pudica, Hyptis suaveolensis, Axonopus compressus, Cynodon dactylon, Paspalum conjugatum, P. longifolium, Ageratum haustonianum and Sida acuta. In mature tea, Mikania micrantha, Paspalum spp., Borreria hispida, Gynura bicolor, Axonopus compressus, Cynodon dactylon, Hyptis suaveolensis, Melastoma malabathricum, Osbachia sp.Sida acuta, Chromolaena odorata, Lantana camara, Mimosa diplotricha var. inermis and Dicanthium sp. mostly dominate. In the seed baris besides other terrestrial weeds, a parasitic weed, Lauranthus longifolia has been noticed at many places. Organic tea cultivation is gaining popularity in recent time; the nature of weed is also changing. Some of the weeds like Digitaria seligera, Setaria glauca, S. pumila, Leucas aspera, L. indica, Leonarua sibiricus, Merreamiasp., Solanum nigrum, Lygodium Jlexuosum, L. japonica and Mimosa diplitricha var. innermis have been found to be major in organic tea plantations. 55National Seminar on Plant Protection in Tea, 26-27 Feb., 2015 Uncontrolled weed growth can cause a loss of tea productivity to the extent of 50-70 per cent. These productivity losses due to weeds may accrue due to severe competition for growth factors, restricted branching and frame development, harbouring of pathogens and pests as alternate hosts, less plucking efficiency, contamination of plucked shoots, and water stagnation in the drainage outlets. Weed infestation and thereby damage to tea is more severe in young tea up to two years before canopy closure and during the period of pruning every three to four years. Weed competition began at 8 weeks after weed emergence in tea plantation and was detrimental to young tea at 12 weeks or later. A period of 18 weeks of uncontrolled weed growth in young tea was enough for plant mortality. The period between April to September is very critical from tea productivity point of view and the season coincides with high rainfall and temperature which provides a very favourable condition for weed growth and is a menace for the crop. Different methods are used individually or integrated for effective weed management in tea plantations. However, use of herbicides still remains a cheap and effective means for weed control. Model weed control schedules with combination of pre-mergence and post- emergence herbicides have been developed and followed. But option of herbicides (PPFs : Plant Protection Formulations) in tea is very limited as number of herbicides registered for tea as per gazette notification of Ministry of Agriculture S.0. 2486 (E) dated 24% September, 2014 is few comprising only Glyphosate 41 SL and 71 SG, Glyphosate Ammonium Salt 5 SL, Glufosinate Amonium13.5 SL, Oxyfluorfen 23.5 EC and Paraquat Dichloride 24 WSC. Cases of herbicide tolerance by specific weeds have been observed. Herbicide rotation, integrated weed management, vigilance on developing resistant ecotypes are some of the useful means to restrict herbicide resistance build up in weeds. Studies on herbicide residues till now have not indicated any residues above detectable level in context of standard herbicides in plant, soil or water in tea plantations. But research information on secondary metabolites is still lacking. Developing clones with resistance to non-selective herbicides as in the case of some agricultural crops will also be promising in tea. A new challenge has emerged in recent time with regards to weed management in organic tea plantations. An effective and economically sound method is still eluding the organic tea planters. New methods like use of allelopathy and robotics might give effective solution to weed management for optimum productivity in organic tea. 56