Tea

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Tea (Camellia sinensis) is India's single largest plantation industry and the second largest tea producer in the world after China. India produces roughly 1,350 – 1,400 million kg of made tea per year on about 630,000 hectares, with Assam alone accounting for close to 50% of national production, West Bengal (Darjeeling + Dooars-Terai) another 25 – 28% and the South Indian hills (Nilgiris, Munnar, Wayanad, Coorg) the balance. India is both the world's largest consumer of tea (around 80% of the crop is drunk domestically) and a major exporter of orthodox and specialty teas — Darjeeling (the first GI-tagged Indian product, 2004), Assam Orthodox, Nilgiri Orthodox, Kangra and Munnar are all GI-registered origins. The industry is regulated by the Tea Board of India (Kolkata) under the Tea Act 1953, and the two public-sector research institutes are the Tocklai Tea Research Institute (TRA) at Jorhat in Assam — the oldest tea research station in the world, founded 1911 — and the UPASI Tea Research Foundation at Valparai (Anamalai, Tamil Nadu) for South India. Auction price discovery happens at six Tea Board auction centres: Kolkata, Guwahati, Siliguri, Kochi, Coonoor and Coimbabor. ICAR-NBPGR, ICAR-IIHR Bengaluru and the state agricultural universities (Assam Agricultural University, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, UPASI) collaborate with Tocklai and UPASI on clonal breeding, pest management and climate-resilient agronomy.

Twelve-month operations

Fertilizer schedule

Tocklai (TRA Jorhat) and UPASI package of practices recommend approximately 120 – 180 kg N + 40 – 60 kg P₂O₅ + 90 – 120 kg K₂O per hectare per year on bearing North-Indian sections and 180 – 240 kg N + 60 – 90 kg P₂O₅ + 120 – 150 kg K₂O/ha/yr on the heavier-yielding Darjeeling and South Indian clonal plantings, applied in three to four equal splits — pre-monsoon (Mar – Apr), peak monsoon (Jun – Jul), post-monsoon (Sep – Oct) and a lighter winter / pruning dose (Dec – Jan). Nitrogen is typically split as 60% urea / ammonium sulphate and 40% calcium ammonium nitrate on acidic Assam soils. Organic manuring: 5 – 10 tonnes of well-decomposed cattle manure or green-manure in situ (Crotalaria, Tephrosia, Indigofera) every 3 – 4 years to maintain soil organic carbon above 1.5%. Micronutrients — zinc sulphate (0.5%) and manganese sulphate (0.1%) foliar sprays — pre-monsoon correct common Zn deficiencies on heavily cropped Assam and Dooars soils. Soil pH must be maintained in the 4.5 – 5.5 range (tea is strongly acidophilic); liming is NOT applied to tea gardens — this is a key difference from most other Indian crops.

Pest & disease management

Tea mosquito bug (Helopeltis theivora in the North-East and H. antonii in South India) is the single most damaging pest — it punctures young shoots and causes black-browning and crop loss of 15 – 50%; management is strictly need-based thiamethoxam, flubendiamide or neem-based (azadirachtin 0.5%) foliar sprays at scouted threshold, with strict pre-harvest intervals mandated by the Tea Board of India Plant Protection Code (PPC) and EU / Japan Maximum Residue Limits (MRL). Red spider mite (Oligonychus coffeae) flares in the Mar – May hot-dry window across Assam and Dooars — managed with wettable sulphur (0.3%) or propargite / fenpyroximate sprays. Looper caterpillar (Buzura suppressaria / Hyposidra talaca) and bunch caterpillar (Andraca bipunctata) defoliate flush shoots during Apr – Jun — Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) sprays and need-based synthetic pyrethroids. Blister blight (Exobasidium vexans) is the main foliar disease on South Indian hill plantations above 1,000 m — pre-monsoon prophylactic copper oxychloride (0.3%) sprays. Grey blight (Pestalotiopsis theae) and red rust (Cephaleuros parasiticus) are secondary. Nematodes (Meloidogyne, Pratylenchus) affect young replants — manage with neem cake (1 t/ha) and Trichoderma viride soil application. The Tea Board PPC mandates strict adherence to approved-molecule lists and MRL compliance — residue failures lead to export rejections to EU, Japan, Iran and the US.

Irrigation

Tea is traditionally rainfed on the high-rainfall Assam and Darjeeling belts (annual rainfall 2,500 – 4,500 mm, well distributed through the south-west monsoon). On the drier Dooars-Terai, Nilgiris sunny slopes and Kangra Valley, supplementary sprinkler or drip irrigation at 25 – 40 mm/week during the Jan – Apr dry window and Oct – Nov post-monsoon break sustains the first flush and autumnal flush and is now near-universal on modern South Indian plantations. Mulching between rows with pruned tea litter conserves soil moisture and feeds the acidic humus layer. Avoid waterlogging — tea roots are shallow and anoxia-sensitive; strict drainage on heavy Dooars clay soils is critical during peak monsoon.

Sources

• Tea Board of India (Kolkata) — statutory regulator under the Tea Act 1953
• Tocklai Tea Research Institute (TRA), Jorhat — world's oldest tea research station
• UPASI Tea Research Foundation, Valparai — South Indian tea research
• Plant Protection Code (PPC) — Tea Board of India approved molecules and MRL framework
• FAO — Tea (Camellia sinensis) production and trade statistics
• APEDA Agri Exchange — Indian tea export statistics (HS 0902)

Frequently asked questions

Where is tea grown in India and which region produces the most?

Tea in India is grown across three distinct agroclimatic belts. The North-East belt — Assam's Brahmaputra Valley (Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, Jorhat, Sivasagar, Golaghat, Sonitpur) and Barak Valley (Cachar, Karimganj), West Bengal's Darjeeling hills and the Dooars-Terai (Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar) — produces roughly 75 – 80% of national output, with Assam alone accounting for close to half of the Indian crop. The South Indian belt — the Nilgiris, Anamalai, Munnar, Wayanad, Kodagu — produces about 15 – 20% and is dominated by the Nilgiris plateau and the Anamalai hills of Tamil Nadu and the Munnar / Peermade high-range of Kerala. The North-West belt — the GI-tagged Kangra Valley in Himachal Pradesh (Palampur, Dharamshala, Baijnath) and the Kumaon-Garhwal of Uttarakhand — is a small but historically important premium origin. A fast-growing fourth category is the North-East small-grower belt in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram, Tripura and Meghalaya. Assam remains the single-largest producing state by a wide margin, and Dibrugarh district alone is often described as the 'tea capital of India'.

What is the difference between Assam, Darjeeling and Nilgiri tea?

The three are grown in different agroclimatic belts and from different botanical cultivars, which gives each a distinct flavour profile. Assam tea is grown mostly in the low-elevation (50 – 200 m) Brahmaputra and Barak valleys from the Camellia sinensis var. assamica (large-leaf) cultivar — the cup is strong, malty, full-bodied and dark-liquoring, and most of it is manufactured as orthodox or CTC (crush-tear-curl) black tea. Darjeeling tea is grown on the steep slopes of the Darjeeling hills (600 – 2,000 m) in West Bengal from the Camellia sinensis var. sinensis (China-type small-leaf) cultivar — the cup is lighter, floral, muscatel-noted and golden-liquoring; Darjeeling is India's first GI-tagged product (2004) and is produced almost entirely as orthodox tea with four distinct flush seasons (first flush Mar – Apr, muscatel second flush May – Jun, monsoon flush Jul – Sep, autumnal Oct – Nov). Nilgiri tea is grown on the Nilgiris plateau and Anamalai hills (1,000 – 2,500 m) in Tamil Nadu from a mix of assamica and sinensis clones — the cup is bright, fragrant, mid-bodied with pronounced aroma; Nilgiri is known as the 'fragrant one' and is a GI-registered origin that is used widely in blends. All three operate under the Tea Board of India regulatory framework and are auctioned at the six Tea Board auction centres (Kolkata, Guwahati, Siliguri, Kochi, Coonoor, Coimbatore).

What are the four tea flushes in India and why do they matter?

'Flush' is the industry term for a seasonal burst of new leaf growth after a dormancy or stress period, and it directly determines the cup character and the price. Darjeeling's four flushes are the clearest expression and set the global reference: (1) First flush (Mar – Apr) — the first growth after winter dormancy; tender, light-coloured leaf giving a delicate, pale-golden, slightly astringent, floral cup; this is Darjeeling's premium export lot. (2) Second flush / muscatel (May – Jun) — the famous Darjeeling muscatel with its distinctive grape / wine note caused by jassid (Empoasca) feeding injury triggering a defence-chemical response in the leaf; the highest-priced Darjeeling lot of the year. (3) Monsoon / rains flush (Jul – Sep) — the volume engine of the Indian crop; stronger, darker, less-nuanced leaf used mainly in CTC and blended teas. (4) Autumnal flush (Oct – Nov) — a mellower, coppery-liquoring, slightly smoky cup; the last premium window of the North Indian calendar. South Indian estates (Nilgiris, Munnar, Anamalai) pluck near year-round but have twin flush peaks in Apr – May (spring flush) and Sep – Nov (autumnal) — the autumnal Nilgiri frost tea from Jan – Feb cold-wave nights is a specialty.

Why don't tea gardens apply lime like other crops?

Tea (Camellia sinensis) is strongly acidophilic — it requires a soil pH in the 4.5 – 5.5 range for healthy root function and nutrient uptake, and it does best on well-drained, deep, acidic, high-organic-carbon soils of the Assam alluvium, Darjeeling schist and the Nilgiris laterite. Liming — which is the standard pre-monsoon operation on almost every other Indian crop (rice, wheat, pulses, horticulture) to raise soil pH toward neutrality — is NOT applied to tea gardens. Instead, Tocklai (TRA Jorhat) and UPASI package of practices actively preserve soil acidity through ammonium-sulphate / urea nitrogen (which acidify the soil as they hydrolyse) and heavy mulching with pruned tea litter. If pH rises above 5.8, tea growth slows and the crop becomes susceptible to secondary pests and diseases. This acidophilic requirement is why tea cannot be rotated with most other crops on the same block and why plantation life is 60 – 100 years rather than annual re-cropping.

How is Indian tea sold and what is the auction system?

Price discovery for most of the Indian tea crop happens through the six Tea Board of India licensed public auction centres: Kolkata (the largest, mostly Dooars-Terai and some Assam volumes), Guwahati (Assam CTC and orthodox), Siliguri (Dooars-Terai), Kochi (South Indian orthodox and CTC), Coonoor (Nilgiris orthodox and specialty) and Coimbatore (Anamalai CTC and orthodox). The auctions operate under Tea Board rules — made tea is sampled, graded (BOP, BP, PF, Dust, OP, FOP, SFTGFOP for orthodox grades; different code for CTC) and offered to registered buyers (packeters, exporters, blenders) under a transparent bidding system. Premium Darjeeling, Munnar and specialty orthodox lots additionally sell through private treaty (direct estate-to-buyer) and increasingly through online e-auction platforms. The Tea Board also runs mandatory Fair Price Information through the J. Thomas & Co. and other Tea Board-licensed brokers. Export documentation requires the Tea Board Export Licence and compliance with the destination country's Maximum Residue Limits — EU, Japan, Iran and the US all have strict MRL regimes that the Tea Board Plant Protection Code (PPC) is designed to meet. HS code for Indian tea exports is Chapter 0902 (black fermented tea 09024010 / 09024030 / 09024040, green tea 09021010 / 09021020).

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