AREA SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCES (ASC) Area scientific conferences are held every year in each tea district by the District planters' association (DPA) in consultation with UPASI TRF. In these conferences the scientists, and planters from the district participate. They discuss the current research activities of TRF and area specific problems relating to tea. These meetings provide a forum for the planters to interact with scientists and clarify their doubts on different aspects of tea cultivation and processing. The scientists also get a feed back on the extent of adoption of their recommendations.


JOINT AREA SCIENTIFIC SYMPOSIA (JASS) These symposia are jointly organized by the District planters' associations and the UPASI TRF. These are held once in two or three years in different tea districts. Planters from all the tea districts are invited for the symposia making it a popular forum for the planters to interact among themselves and also with the scientists. Information on cultivation practices in different tea districts is shared and new developments in tea research are discussed. The delegates with different estates in the districts and obtain a first hand knowledge of the tea district, hosting the JASS. The JASS often described as "traveling symposium". So far eight Joint Area Scientific Symposia have been held.

JASS VIII The eighth Joint Area Scientific Symposium (JASS VIII) was conducted by the Central Travancore Planters'Association and UPASI Tea Scientific Department at Vandiperiyar and Peermade on the April 23rd and 24th 1999. The symposium was inaugurated by Mr. K. Jacob Thomas, President, UPASI. About 100 delegates comprising planters from all the tea growing area of south India, officials from Tea Board and scientists from Tocklai Experimental Station, Assam and UPASI TRF participated.A couple of planters from Assam also attended the symposium. The sessions included field visits and presentation of papers. Topics such as mechanization of pruning, new planting, soil and water conservation measures, economic weed control, ecology and control of thrips and tea mosquito bug, management of shot hole borer, shear harvesting, shredding of tea prunings, soil status of Central Travancore and replanting were covered during the symposium. Proceedings of JASS VIII have been published in Bulletin No. 53 of UPASI Tea Scientific Department.