Solutions to restore raw tea growing areas

(Baonghean) - According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the recent severe drought has caused over 2,260 hectares of tea leaves to burn, with damage ranging from 30 to 70%; nearly 850 hectares of tea were completely "wiped out". Currently, local people and authorities are taking many measures to restore the tea raw material areas.

Coming to Thanh Huong commune, the locality is using a sprinkler irrigation system (rain irrigation) that is highly effective in preventing drought for tea plants. Although this system is not yet widely used, surveys from households applying this method show that tea grows well. Through research, it is known that this irrigation system consists of 3 main parts, including an automatic water spray nozzle that can rotate 3600 with a diameter of about 6m, a water pipe system from the source and a pump to stimulate water. Because water is led directly to the sprinkler system through the pipe, it has minimized water loss and maintained a constant humidity for plant growth. Currently, each hamlet in the commune has from 4 to 6 households using this system. Mr. Nguyen Van Thin in hamlet 12 said: "Taking advantage of the water source from Dun lake, 200m from the tea hill, the family installed this automatic irrigation system at a total cost of 20 million VND. With a spraying time of 10 hours per day, the entire planting area is always kept moist, so the tea trees grow very well. The monthly electricity bill is only between 300,000 and 400,000 VND. The machinery and pipeline system can be used for a long time, up to 20 years if well maintained." Currently, the entire Thanh Huong commune has a total tea growing area of ​​180 hectares, of which more than 50 hectares are in the basic construction period. The recent heat wave has damaged nearly 37 hectares. However, according to Mr. Nguyen Van Tu, Chairman of the Commune People's Committee, if people take advantage of water from Hoc Dau, Thap But, and Vu Tho lakes to expand the above automatic irrigation system, it can ensure that the tea trees grow well even in the dry season.

People of Thanh Huong commune (Thanh Chuong) install an irrigation system for tea.

Although the sprinkler irrigation system is effective in preventing drought for tea plants, not every family can afford to install it. With a total area of ​​over 4,500 hectares, the recent prolonged heat wave has damaged over 1,200 hectares of tea, causing many tea growers in Thanh Chuong to suffer. Thanh Mai, Thanh Tung, Thanh An, Thanh Thinh... are communes with many tea areas burned to death by over 70%. Faced with this situation, the district and commune together with tea growers are urgently working to find timely response plans. Mr. Le Dinh Thanh, Head of the District Agriculture Department, said: “In the immediate future, the district is mobilizing people to take advantage of water sources at 7 large dams and more than 200 large and small dams in the district to pump water for tea irrigation. At the same time, tea exploitation during dry periods is limited and the length of buds is adjusted when exploiting to avoid damage to the plants. On the other hand, in the next crop, the district encourages people to intercrop legumes to regenerate the soil and protect the tea plants from the sun.”

In Anh Son district, more than 300 hectares of tea have been affected by drought in the past time. Due to the complex mountainous terrain, the drought here is quite severe, the dam system has run out of water, while the irrigation system still has many limitations. In Phuc Son commune, out of 240 hectares of tea, more than 40 hectares are newly planted areas, the heat has damaged 25 hectares. According to Mr. Nguyen Van Trang, Chairman of the Commune People's Committee: "To promptly overcome the situation of tea dying due to the heat, many households had to drill wells right on the tea hills to supply water to the newly planted areas. However, with a great depth of 40m to 70m to reach the water source, the cost is nearly 15 million VND, so only a few households do it. As for the tea varieties for recovery and new planting after the drought, the commune encourages people to mainly plant two varieties LPD1 and LPD2. Although the yield and quality of the tea of ​​the above two varieties are not as high as the PH1 variety, their resistance to heat and drought is quite good, so people have widely used them."

Thanh Thuy farmers (Thanh Chuong) invested in high-capacity pumps to pump water to irrigate tea.

In Hung Son commune, people said that the replanting area will be carried out in the 9th lunar month, when the weather is suitable for the development of young plants. Mr. Dau Van Nghia, Head of Hamlet 5, shared: “After this year's drought season, people have learned some mistakes that have reduced the drought resistance of tea, such as placing the tea pots too shallow when planting, causing the roots to eat shallowly on the ground without going deep into the ground to absorb water. On the other hand, the western slopes always endure much greater heat than the eastern slopes. Therefore, in the coming time, when planting remedial or new planting, the hamlet will instruct people to learn from experience.”

According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, 2,260 hectares of tea with burnt leaves are in need of restoration. After the rain, people should take care of the tea with a suitable regime for the tea to grow again. According to Mr. Nguyen Dinh Huong, Deputy Head of the Department of Crop Production - Department of Agriculture and Rural Development: Varieties are a very important factor in drought resistance for tea, tea areas planted with drought-resistant varieties such as LDP1, LDP2 are less affected by drought. The Department of Agriculture recommends that people: For areas of burnt tea leaves, with damage from 30 - 70%, care will be taken, seedlings will be prepared, and when it rains, more will be planted to ensure density with newly planted tea areas; for commercial tea, when it rains, weeding and fertilizing will be done to help the tea recover and grow. Particularly for nearly 850 hectares of tea with over 70% burnt, it is necessary to destroy it and replant it. Currently, the province has proposed the Government to support in the form of natural disaster assistance. However, in the long term, there needs to be sustainable solutions for investing in irrigation to combat drought for tea. In addition, it is necessary to consider planting shade trees, researching to find plants that consume less nutrients, suitable for planting under the roots to combat drought. The use of tea picking machines also needs to be cautious, because besides the advantages, summer picking machines reduce the drought resistance of tea.

Thanh Quynh - Phu Huong