Tea leaves burning for extreme sun heat

Srimangal tea garden

Staff Correspondent: In Moulvibazar, the tea plant is not getting new buds in the hot weather. Somewhere the leaves of the tea tree are getting burnt by the intense sun. The workers are not able to collect the tea leaves prescribed by the garden (at least 24 kg per day) while picking tea leaves with their hands. As a result, their ‘hajira’ or weekly salary is negatively affected. This heat wave has affected 92 tea gardens in the district. The workers and plantation owners are trying hard to save the tea garden from this situation.
Tea plant can withstand heat up to 29 degrees Celsius. If you go over it, the tea will become dry.
Going to different tea gardens, workers are picking leaves in the hot sun. Many are drenched in sweat. However, in sections where seed tea or shade trees are less; In those sections, the leaves of the tree are folded. Which is called ‘Bandi dasha’ of tea. Apart from this, ‘red disease’ has caught the tree due to the attack of the red spider. Somewhere the leaves are dying. There are many concerns at the beginning of the tea production season. A few sections pruned last December showed that the tree had not yet produced ‘shoots’ (new buds).
Garden worker Basanti Bauri said, if there is no rain, this tree will not get ‘soot’.
At the time when new leaves are expected to fill hands, the leaves affected by bundi dasa have to be removed for new shoots (buds). On the other hand, due to lack of leaves, I am not able to raise the daily minimum target of 24 kg of leaves.
Tea worker Alka Bala said that many people pick more than 24 kg of leaves. Get extra money if you raise more than that. But now no one can lift leaves above 20 kg. After sweating the body in hot sun, now get 10 to 15 kg of leaves. And besides picking leaves, they also have to do additional protective work, including fertilizing and watering the trees.
Salim Reza, manager of Srimangal Zerin Tea Garden, said that currently the temperature is recorded at Srimangal in Moulvibazar at 37 degrees. This industry has suffered losses.
Bangladesh Tea Association Sylhet Region Branch Chairman Golam Md. Shibli said, ‘20 to 25 degrees Celsius is the best temperature for tea. However, tea plants can withstand heat up to 29 degrees. If you go over it, the tea will become dry.
In this regard, Bangladesh Tea Board Project Development Unit Director Dr. Rafiqul Haque said that since Bangladesh is a disaster-prone country; Therefore, permanent measures should be taken for the dry season. In particular, integrated management should be adopted. Every day members of tea research center are visiting different gardens and giving advice.