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

Jakia Sultana*
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

Md. Abdul Halim
SRDI, District office, Dinajpur, Bangladesh

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

Start Date:

End Date:

Program Area: Socio-economic and Policy

Commodity: Tea, Environmental change

Objectives:

This case study will focus on soil management by an integrated approach that will reduce the demand of external fertilizers, increase farm resource utilization and soil fertility restoration. Successful adoption of an integrated approach through efficient resource management might have positive impacts on soil health, tea productivity and farm sustainability. Thus, farm economic viability and social impacts will sustain longer. The objectives of this case study were to promote productivity and sustainability of tea plantation soils at farm scale through an integrated natural resource management system, and to estimate fertilizers from organic sources that may reduce the dependency on chemical fertilizers for tea plantation in the Panchagarh district of Bangladesh.

Methodology:

This case study is about integrated soil and plant nutrients management of tea plantations 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.

Budget:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

It is evident from the estimation of fertilizers that the requirement of chemical fertilizers might be avoided or minimized by the adoption of INRM based on organic sources of fertilizers and OM management. The chemical fertilizer requirements for young tea might be avoided by the use of poultry manure; the total amount of N and P requirement might be possible to meet up from poultry manure. While the fertilizer requirements for mature tea might 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. These may increase resource use efficiency and farm profitability. It might be concluded that INRM has the potential to promote productivity and sustainability of soils under tea plantations, and organic sources are meant to reduce chemical fertilizer requirements substantially for tea plantations in the Panchagarh district of Bangladesh.

Knowledge Management: Journal