Despite COVID-19 LOCKDOWN, Red Spider mite attack on tea gardens, Tea sector has reason to cheers, they are getting almost double the price of their produce, claimes Tea Board

Tea garden farmers are doubly hit this time, one the lockdown that hampered tea plucking, and two from the Red Spider Mite and tea bugs in some region of North East area. Yet revenue generation wise, the year has been very good to farmers, tea processing units and for labours, as they are betting better labour than last year, feels senior officers of the Tea Board.

The sudden increase in price of tea leaves has probably come from COVID-19, as people have started using tea leaves frequently in India as well as worldwide to make a hot potion to prevent Corona, fees the expert in the tea industry. The farmers initially had problems, but after they started getting a good price of their crop, they were literally thrilled.

Lockdown and subsequent economic slowdown have been very painful to many, even the tea industry was in very bad shape. At a time when the farmers harvest 60 % of their tea crop, the government had imposed Lockdown or partial lockdown.

Then came the attack of Red Spider mite and tea bugs which hit some parts of the North East region. As if this was not enough, the farmers had to prune most of their gardens to get a fresh leaf. Yet Everyone engaged in the tea sector is happy--for them, COVID-19 is not that BAD.

The farmers of Tea gardens in North-Eastern states were doubly hit this year, one by the non-plucking of tea leaves due to COVID-19 lockdown, and then the attack of ‘red spider mite’, which is likely to affect their production by more than 10 %.

Yet there is no worry on their face and are rather happy with the ongoing tea business—thanks to the sudden surge in the demand of tea leaves, which has almost doubled their selling price. If senior officers of Tea Boards are to be believed, all those involved in the tea garden business from labourers to small tea garden owners, and tea processing units are happy despite the fact they hardly did any business in the month of March, April and June.

“We are expecting a decline of nearly 13 % in tea production.. last year it was 750 Million Kg, this year it would not be more than 650 million Kg. but still, they are very happy. Last year the selling price of leaves were Rs 140-190 per Kg, and this year the price has crossed Rs 330 per Kg—almost double than the last year price,” said a senior officer of the Tea Board requesting anonymity.

Even the small farmers who do not process tea leaves and sell green leaves are elated. “Last year they were selling it at Rs 15 a Kg and this year it around Rs 35 a Kg ..,” the officer said.

Initially, the tea garden owners were very upset. Due to sudden lockdown on March 23, the plucking was stopped for many days. And when it started after some times by the time the leaves had grown big, which is not worth plucking. “Ultimately, the entire crop at most of the places was pruned again. This spoiled another fortnight. Ultimately, there was not much plucking in March, April, May. It picked up in June, yet it has not reached to its previous pace,” said another officer of the Board involved in monitoring tea harvesting in North-Eastern region.

The plucking would continue till October- November, but by now half of the crop should have been harvested. “This was our concern. Seeing the price farmers are getting for their crop, our that concern is almost over,” he added.

Another concern for authorities was the attack of ‘Red Spider mite’ and 'tea bug' at many places in the North-Eastern region. It did affect crop at some places. It badly damaged some tea gardens, however, considering the fact that the farmers are getting almost double the price of their produce, they are still “very happy”,  the officer said.

Three months ago, the entire Tea industry in North Eastern was under distress. The plucking of tea leaves was halted due to sudden lockdown on March 23.

 They had to manage labour payments through partially so as to meet their ends. Then there was another attack of Red Spider Mite in most part of the North-Eastern region. It was always thought that 

The Red spider mite is a tiny mite of the Tetranychidae family. It attacks leaf and flower plants, indoors and outside.

The term “spider” is a bit misleading, because, in reality, this is a mite. However, it does have 8 legs, spins webs, and is related to the same zoological class as spiders, Arachnida.

A few red spider mites will only cause little damage. If they are numerous, though, they might lead the plant to perish.

Conditions for red spider mite to appear

Red spider mites tend to multiply and attack plants when the weather is hot and dry. That’s why they are found indoors all year round and in the garden in summer, when it doesn’t rain and that temperatures stay above 70°F (20°C).

Additionally, these spiders aren’t insects, and abusive use of pesticides actually contributes to their spread. Since many other insects are their predators, killing insects blindly helps spider mites prosper.

Red spider mites quickly adapt to chemical threats. They build up immunity to many pesticides. Their tiny size makes them very difficult to see with the naked eye, but a small magnifying glass helps lift any doubt. 

The first symptom is the appearance of small white or yellow dots and then leaves turn completely yellow. Unlike thrips that produce larger white patches, red spider mite feeding is randomly spread around the area.

As mentioned earlier, red spider mites love it when the air is very dry, it helps them spread.

If you want to learn more about red spider mite, you may consult the following website: https://www.nature-and-garden.com/gardening/red-spider-mite.html