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Conventional to Ecological: Tea Plantation Soil Management in the Panchagarh District of Bangladesh

Sultana Jakis
Organic Agriculture, Wageningen University, the Netherlands

Md. Noor-E-Alam Siddique
Soil Resource Development Institute (SRDI), Ministry of Agriculture, District Office, Pabna

Md. Kamaruzzaman
SRDI, Regional office, Rajshahi

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

Many small-scale farms and several tea estates have started tea plantation in the north-eastern parts of Panchagarh District due to favorable soil and climate. But the conventional approach of tea cultivation using agrochemicals is negatively affecting soil natural fertility; such tea plantation has resulted in significant soil degradation. The productivity has declined and expansion of the industry has threatened by poor conventional management practices. Excessive and unbalanced use of agro-chemicals has led to increase production costs but decline in farm productivity. Thus, there is growing emphasis in the region for ecological and or sustainable approach in tea cultivation to replace the conventional approach. Now soil management in tea gardens by ecological approach is preferred in these areas. Farm scale integrated natural resource management could be a potential solution for tea soil management, while organic sources may reduce the dependency on chemical fertilizers. It is evident from the estimation of fertilizers in this study that chemical fertilizers should be avoided and/or minimized by adoption of integrated natural resource management based on organic sources such as poultry manure, cowdung, farm yard manure and compost. The chemical fertilizer requirements for young tea plants might be avoided by use of poultry manure as they require comparatively low total amount of N and P, while the chemical fertilizer requirements for mature tea can be avoided or minimized by the use of cow dung; almost 50% of N requirement and total amounts of P and K requirements might be possible to meet up. Thus, farm scale resource use efficiency and farm profitability will be sustainable for tea growers in Panchagarh District.

Keywords: Tea plantation, Organic manure, Integrated soil management, Farm profitability

Location: Panchagarh District of Bangladesh implemented by SRDI

Start Date: 00-01-2012

End Date: 00-02-2013

Program Area: Crop-Soil-Water Management

Commodity: Tea

Objectives:

To develop Integrated nutrient resources management packages for soil management for tea plantation

Methodology:

This case study was about integrated soil and plant nutrients management of tea plantation in Panchagarh District of Bangladesh. Information was collected through personal communication, interview with tea growers and publications (annual reports, biennial reports, books, reading materials etc.) of the Bangladesh Tea Board (BTB), Regional Tea Research Station (RTRS), Soil Resource Development Institute (SRDI) and Bangladesh Agriculture Research Council (BARC). Furthermore, it is prepared with the help of information from other secondary sources such as books, reading materials, publications, and articles found in the Wageningen University, the Netherlands library and from other sources, such as information are collected from internet sources. Additionally, relevant subjects, lectures on integrated natural resource management, field tours also remain helpful for understanding and preparing of this case study report. The estimation of fertilizer was calculated based on Fertilizer Recommendation Guide, 2005 of Bangladesh Agriculture Research Council.

Source of Information: J. Sci. Tech. Env. Info. 01(01): 27-35, 2014

Article Link (Online Journal):

Funding Source:

1. Government

Budget:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

It might be concluded that INRM has the potential to promote productivity and sustainability of soils under tea plantation, and organic sources are meant to reduce chemical fertilizer requirements substantially for tea plantation in the Panchagarh district of Bangladesh.

Knowledge Management: Journal