Prior to land selection it is important to consider the climatic requirements for tea cultivation such as 2500-3000 mm annual rain fall and 19-25oC ambient temperature and most important soil requirement i.e. acidic soil of pH 4.5 – 5.5.
Why land selection is so important?
In order to ensure maximum return it is necessary to provide most conducive soil conditions for better establishment of plants and attain high yields. This is particularly important as cost of establishment of tea is so high. In addition, cultivars branded as high yielder demand best of soil conditions for it to perform well. These objectives are not realized if land selection is not done properly and all these efforts get wasted if we cannot get expected returns. This is only possible if optimum crop yields are realized. In order to achieve optimum yields it is imperative that most suitable land for tea cultivation is selected. This will no doubt result in good plant establishment that eventually cover the ground in double quick time protecting the soil well. This is vital as soil is rather exposed during plant establishment and it is considered as the most vulnerable period for soil erosion.
How to select a suitable land?
There are several criteria to consider in selecting a land for tea cultivation.
Slope
Slope of the land which has to be below 55 per cent however it has to be below 70 per cent % due to high vulnerability of soil for erosion in Mid Country.
Soil depth
Soil depth should be over 100 cm to support good root system.
Gravel & Boulders
Surface should not have more than 10% gravel and boulders
Soil profile
Soil profile or soil layer should not impregnated with more than 10% gravel
Next step or operation after land selection is land preparation. Land preparation involves clearance, adoption of soil conservation practices and soil rehabilitation prior to planting tea. In my next post I hope to go into these topics.
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