Escaping the chemical pesticide trap: Non conventional approach for the management of tea pests in northeast India

Abstract

Non-conventional aspect of pest management involves adopting control techniques which do not solely rely on the use of synthetic pesticides. These techniques can be well adopted in organic cultivations as well as in situations where application of toxic pesticides is neither desirable nor permissible. During the last three years, based on multi-location field trials in tea plantations of northeastern Indian, several non-conventional tools were developed as components of IPM of tea which have showed significant reduction in pesticides consumption. Easy tea pest monitoring protocol, spot spray technique and criteria for decision making on pesticide spray were standardized. Structured crop monitoring enabled more targeted spraying thus reducing pest management costs in total. The in-situ preparation of biopesticides formulations from native plants available in tea garden itself was found to be one of the major viable intervention under this study which was effective in controlling tea pests. This study also demonstrates that, the shade trees banded with yellow polythene sheets (0.6m wide) over-laid with freshly applied Hot Melt Pressure Sensitive Adhesive as an effective mean for management of tea looper and other pests such as red slug moth, jassids, thrips and white fly. The study also helpful in developing suitable management package for scale insect with inclusion of non-conventional interventions such as use of Aloevera extract @5%, Himalayan salt @2%, and up gradation of IPM package for termite by incorporation of Metarhizium anisopliae (5%), aqueous extract of Ipomea carnia (8%), entomopathogenic nematodes (EPN, 7 kg/ ha), Boric acid (2%), Boric acid (1%)+ Thiamethoxam (1:4000) and Metarhizium anisopliae (5%) + thiamethoxam (1:4000). Considering all the above practices on pest management, yield and as cost-benefit ratio imply that non-conventional enriched IPM strategies were found to be the best suited practice in the tea fields than the conventional tea farming. Further the upgraded pest management package promoted sustenance more number of natural enemies in all experimental sites.

Keywords: tea, non chemical, monitoring, cultural, botanicals, microbials, natural enemies, benefitcost ratio