Lanka-India to sign MoU for tea research

Guwahati: Sri Lanka, India’s biggest competitor in tea export, will sign an MoU with Tocklai tomorrow for a joint research programme on tea.

Tocklai - the oldest tea research station in the world, built under the Tea Research Association (TRA) at Jorhat in 1911, will play host to a 12-member delegation from Sri Lanka, headed by Industries Minister D.M. Jayaratne.

The team will look at areas of exchange in information on plant breeding, control of pests, mechanisation of field and factory operations and patents.

The Sri Lanka Tea Research Institute which will work in tandem with Tocklai, was established in 1925. Assam Industry Minister Pradyut Bordoloi, top officials from the Tea Board and the Tea Research Association will also be present during the signing of the MoU.

“No doubt they are our competitors, but there are certain common interests on which both the countries can work and this agreement is a part of that idea,” said the Tocklai Tea Experimental Station Director, Mridul Hazarika.

India is essentially a CTC market while Sri Lanka is an orthodox tea market.

The research parties will now exchange germplasm and other materials to expand the genetic base of tea and also to identify resistant traits for tea disease.

There will also be studies on maximum residue limits with particular reference to copper and sulphur levels.

“If we have to grow tea, some amount of chemicals will have to be used and the agreement will work on it,” Hazarika said.

Control of pests will be another important area of work and experiments will be conducted on biological control of pests and diseases.

On the mechanisation of field and factory operations, both organisations will work on identification of instruments to control and monitor tea processing and improvement of the existing tea machinery. - The Telegraph