Upasi Tea Research Foundation
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CULTURAL OPERATIONS such as plucking, pruning, shade regulation and weed control are manipulated to reduce the incidence of pests. Tea mosquito laid large number of eggs on the broken ends of plucked shoots. Intensive removal of stalks during plucking is recommended to reduce the incidence of this past. Weeds offer excellent hiding places and serve as alternate hosts for Helopeltis and red spider mites. Growth of weeds and wild host plants in and around tea fields may be controlled and this will help to reduce the incidence of pest. Severity of attack by shot hole borer increases with the age of the field from pruning. Therefore, it is advised to maintain the length of pruning cycles to 4 years in mid elevation areas. Application of higher rate of K2O @ 1:2 ratios to the soil in the first year of the pruning cycle significantly reduced the infestation by shot hole borer.

BIOCONTROL AGENTS Minor status of many of the tea pests is mainly due to the influence of the biocontrol agents. So far, more than one hundred species of predatory and parasitic insects and mites have been reported from the tea estates of southern India. Data are also available on the bioecology of the major parasitoids and predators. An exhaustive list of natural enemies of tea pests is available in Journal of Plantation Crops, 2001, 29 (2): 1-10.

USE OF BOTANICALS Formulations containing azadirachtin have been found effective against pink and purple mites and caterpillar pests such as flushworms and leaf rollers. Use of these neem formulations are recommended mainly to save natural enemies and to reduce the load of synthetic pesticides on tea.

USE OF INORGANIC COMPOUNDS, HYDROCARBON OILS formulations of sulphur is effective against red spider mites. Recently, spray oil from paraffinic base has been found effective against red spider mites. Since this oil does not leave any residues in tea, it is incorporated into the mite control programme in tea.

INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT (IPM) During the last one decade, we have made considerable efforts to incorporate non-chemical control strategies and to evolve an integrated pest management programme for tea. The package of IPM practices for tea has been presented at the National Workshop, organised by the Directorate of Plant Protection, Govt. of India and the same has been published in the Planters Chronicle April 2002 issue( 98 (4) : 107-125).
   
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