Tea plucking delayed for poor rainfall in Sylhet

18 March 2009, 18:00 PM

Iqbal Siddiquee, Sylhet

Although plucking in most tea gardens in greater Sylhet region is yet to start due to scanty rainfall, a few tea gardens in Sylhet Sadar upazila are lucky enough to see start of the work with a bit better rainfall there at the onset of the plucking season. Photo: STAR

Tea cultivation in greater Sylhet region comprising 138 of the country's 160 tea gardens is suffering due to lack of rainfall. Plucking in tea gardens usually starts early March every year but it is being delayed due to the drought-like situation this year, said officials at different tea estates in Sylhet region. “Tea is a very sensitive crop that needs adequate rainfall and sunshine during March to October. A minimum rainfall is also required during November-December and February-March,” an official of Bangladesh Tea Board said. “Although we got 30mm rainfall till the first week of March last year, only 0.8mm rainfall has been recorded during the period this year. We could not even start irrigation as the natural water sources have dried up,” said Mohammad Shajahan Akand, manager of Somonbhag Tea Estate. Besides delay in plucking, there are fear of attack by insects like Red Spider on the tea plants as fertilisation will also be delayed. Normally fertilisation requires a minimum of 20mm to 30mm rainfall, said Shahjahan, who is also the circle chairman of Juri Valley. The 160 tea gardens in greater Sylhet region are under six 'valleys' or zones. Plucking has started in Hobibnagar Tea Estate in Sylhet where the situation is relatively better with 50mm rainfall in two and a half months this year. Still the amount is much less than requirement in the area where 102mm rainfall was recorded during the corresponding period last year, said Humayun Kabir, manager of Hobibnagar Tea Estate. An important cash crop of Bangladesh, tea is also one of the largest agro-based industries in the country. In addition to newly established seven small tea holdings, there are 162 tea gardens having a total annual production of about 55 to 60 million kg. About two-thirds of the production is consumed at home while export of the rest earns a good amount of foreign exchange. This year the country's tea production target has been fixed at 60 million kg.