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 |