Sylhet Correspondent :
Most of the tea gardens in tea producing region couldn’t yet start the season’s tea leaf plucking due to the drought-like situation.
However, only a few tea gardens in North-Sylhet region started plucking this week as it experienced welcome shower two weeks ago, industry sources said.
General manager of the Bangladesh Tea Board’s tea estate management cell Md. Shahjahan Akand said, normally the slight rains during the period from November to February is essential for tea plants to grow well every year. But this year it is absent as yet and the matured plants are also getting weak in most of the tea gardens, except those in North-Sylhet circle. Most of the gardens would have to start tea plucking, after two weeks although first week of March is the best. It may affect the year’s production, he added.
The official said, almost all the gardens lack artificial irrigation facilities. Due to the hilly location, they often don’t get water even on sinking deep tubewells. Due to shortage of water, many plants, especially the young tea plants (1-5 year old) are drying up in most of the gardens for the last couple of weeks.
There was no rainfall in November-February period whereas the situation was different in the previous year, Shahjahan said and added, last year’s national production stood was the ever highest at 85.5 million kgs.
However, General Manager of Khadim Tea Company in Sylhet Numan Haider Chowdhury said the gardens in Sylhet are comparatively better now as we got minimum rains this year.
Manager of the Hobibnagar tea estate in Sylhet Humayun Kabir also said, “Gardens in Sylhet started tea leaf plucking last week as we had already some rainfall.”
Manager of a garden in Moulvibazar Masum Abdullah Chowdhury said it is not possible to arrange artificial irrigation on tea plantations on hillocks. The plants are dying as there had been no rain, he said. “We could not arrange irrigation from the natural streams too. If the drought-like situation continues for another week or so, the matured and old plants will also suffer,” he added.
Every year each of the tea garden authority has to raise 2.5 per cent tea plantation since the sector suffers much for its age-old plantation. But, foul weather behavior like drought-like situation often disrupts it, Tea Research officials said.
Most of the tea gardens in tea producing region couldn’t yet start the season’s tea leaf plucking due to the drought-like situation.
However, only a few tea gardens in North-Sylhet region started plucking this week as it experienced welcome shower two weeks ago, industry sources said.
General manager of the Bangladesh Tea Board’s tea estate management cell Md. Shahjahan Akand said, normally the slight rains during the period from November to February is essential for tea plants to grow well every year. But this year it is absent as yet and the matured plants are also getting weak in most of the tea gardens, except those in North-Sylhet circle. Most of the gardens would have to start tea plucking, after two weeks although first week of March is the best. It may affect the year’s production, he added.
The official said, almost all the gardens lack artificial irrigation facilities. Due to the hilly location, they often don’t get water even on sinking deep tubewells. Due to shortage of water, many plants, especially the young tea plants (1-5 year old) are drying up in most of the gardens for the last couple of weeks.
There was no rainfall in November-February period whereas the situation was different in the previous year, Shahjahan said and added, last year’s national production stood was the ever highest at 85.5 million kgs.
However, General Manager of Khadim Tea Company in Sylhet Numan Haider Chowdhury said the gardens in Sylhet are comparatively better now as we got minimum rains this year.
Manager of the Hobibnagar tea estate in Sylhet Humayun Kabir also said, “Gardens in Sylhet started tea leaf plucking last week as we had already some rainfall.”
Manager of a garden in Moulvibazar Masum Abdullah Chowdhury said it is not possible to arrange artificial irrigation on tea plantations on hillocks. The plants are dying as there had been no rain, he said. “We could not arrange irrigation from the natural streams too. If the drought-like situation continues for another week or so, the matured and old plants will also suffer,” he added.
Every year each of the tea garden authority has to raise 2.5 per cent tea plantation since the sector suffers much for its age-old plantation. But, foul weather behavior like drought-like situation often disrupts it, Tea Research officials said.
