Research

Agricultural Sciences

Title :

Development of sustainable agricultural practices for biotic and abiotic stress management for conventional and organic tea plantations

Area of Research :

Agricultural Sciences

Focus Area :

Sustainable Agriculture, Organic Farming

Principal Investigator :

"Dr. Somnath Roy, Tocklai Tea Research Institute, Jorhat, Assam; Dr. Popy Bora, Assam Agricultural University (AAU), Jorhat, Assam; Dr. Uttam Manna, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Guwahati, Assam; Dr. Karthikeyan Gandhi, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu; Dr. Nepolean Panneerselvam, UPASI Tea Research Foundation, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu; Dr. Abhay Pandey, Tea Research Institute, North Bengal Regional R&D Center, Nagrakata, West Bengal; Dr. Perumalla Srikanth

Co-PI:

"Dr. Sangeeta Borchetia, Tocklai Tea Research Institute, Jorhat, Assam; Dr. Pritom Chowdhury, Tocklai Tea Research Institute, Jorhat, Assam; Dr. Pradeep Patel, Tocklai Tea Research Institute, Jorhat, Assam; Dr. Jintu Dutta, Tocklai Tea Research Institute, Jorhat, Assam; Dr. Satya Sarmah, Tocklai Tea Research Institute, Jorhat, Assam; Dr. Harisadhan Malakar, Tocklai Tea Research Institute, Jorhat, Assam; Dr. Bharat Nath, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat, Assam; Dr. Mousumi Phukon, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat, Assam; Dr. Rajen Baruah, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat, Assam; Dr. Lingaraj Sahoo, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Guwahati, Assam; Dr. Pugalendhi

Contact info :

Timeline Start Year :

2022

Timeline End Year :

2025

Total Budget (INR):

4,03,.5,394

Details

Executive Summary :

Tea (Camelia sinensis) industry has the potential to propel Indian economy. During recent years, tea cultivation is suffering from wide range of biotic/abiotic stresses with yield losses ranging between 5-55%. Hence, sustainable management/mitigation of biotic/abiotic stresses and nutrient management in tea using integrated approached is highly necessary. The present proposal will aim at, i) unraveling mechanism of resistance development by major lepidopteran tea pests against pesticides; ii) develop a technology capsule for sustainable management of biotic stresses in tea; iii) introduction of crop boosters, biofertilizers and superabsorbent functional hydrogel for mitigating abiotic stresses and nutrient management in tea. The project will come out with sustainable strategies for pest/disease/nutrient/drought mitigation in tea with reduced usage of chemicals. Outcomes of this project will also lead to development of packages for tea cultivation with minimum chemical inputs.

Equipments :

Achievements :

A regional susceptibility study in North East India revealed significant variation in insecticide tolerance among Hyposidra talaca (H. talaca) and Eterusia aedea (E. aedea ) populations. The Dooars region showed the highest tolerance for both the pests while Cachar (forH. talaca) and the organic tea estate of terai region (for E. aedea) exhibited the lowest. An insecticide resistance map has been generated for H.talaca. Detoxifying enzyme analysis for cytochrome P450, general esterase, glutathione S-transferase revealed a strong positive correlation with insecticide tolerance, indicating metabolic detoxification contributes to resistance. A synergistic bioassay with PBO and Deltamethrin showed increased mortality, suggesting the role of cytochrome P450 in resistance. Total body lipid analy

Patents :

Yes

Outcome/Output:

1

Organizations involved