Coonoor tea planter comes up with solution to cut chemical fertilisers’ use

At a time when the Indian tea industry is dogged by a host of issues concerning chemical residue; a Coonoor-based planter came up with a pilot project proposal that, he claims, should reduce use of chemical fertiliser by half and double the yield.

According to N Lakshmanan, director of Golden Hill Tea Estate in Nilgiri, the current method of broadcasting nitrogenous fertilisers (applying by hand on the surface) is both wasteful and leads to soil toxicity.

Water soluble fertiliser, if kept in the open loses efficiency due to volatilisation. Also part of the nutrients are swept away (leaching) by rain and irrigation.

Lakhsmanan says the loss is significant and can be reduced by injecting fertiliser directly at the roots, 6-8 inches under the soil, at a suitable time when the plants are most active.

The process is easier said than done. A tea bush releases specific enzymes through its roots to collect the nutrients from soil for two hours a day. This is referred as nitrate reductase activity. Manuring can be most effective, if fertilisers are injected during that two hour window.

Lakhsmanan proposes, the biotechnology department of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras should spearhead the pilot project to determine the exact time of nitrate redutase activity of each plant.

The information will be fed into a software - to be developed by Golden Hill Tea Estate – for further use of a programmable logical controller that will send radio signals to activate automatic drip irrigation machines, for due injection of manure.

The planter held preliminary discussions with the Israeli major, Netafim, for the drip irrigation. Texas-based National Instruments are proposed to be roped in to supply the logical controller.

Based on a concept note, submitted last month; the Tea Board has evinced initial interest in the project subject to submission of further details including the costs per hectare for the pilot study.

Lakhsmanan says he will meet all the partners in the proposed project in a week to prepare the detailed project proposal to seek Tea Board funding in the project.

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