An interesting article is posted on the bbc website, which I urge you to visit to get an insight into the water demand for tea.
While this may be true, there is another aspect to it. That of "How much water is saved from getting evaporated by a Tea Plant? It is this second aspect which I wish to touch upon. As for the article on bbc website, the link is http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8628832.stm
It says, 30 Ltrs of water is used to make one cup of Tea.
However, speaking about our brew here, may I raise a question for our learned folks :-
How much water loss is prevented by cultivating the soil for making 1 Kg of Tea?
Let us consider the following positives:-
Nearly 12000 to 18000 plants of Tea per hectare.
Nearly 400 to 800 Shade trees per hectare, mostly of the leguminous variety.
A green carpet cover over the land for thousands of hectare, preventing direct loss of moisture from the soil.
Preventing ill effects of the ever increasing intensity of UV rays of the sun on the soil, by blocking / filtering it.
Consider the Contour drainage adopted by the Tea plantations, where water is just not allowed to run off, without optimum percolation. This prevents soil erosion, wastage of water, as well as surface water logging.
And many more. I hope I have been able to kindle the thought process!
To share a personal experience, we made a record crop of 2.3 million Kgs with a rainfall of 58" as against 2.1 million in the previous year with 119" and again 2.3 million in the next year with 75".
I learned a few things from this:-
It is distribution that really matters, and not the quantum.
Irrigation is often overdone (by the fortunate few who can afford it).
Some panic easily, and irrigate without measuring soil / moisture tension.
Prevention of water loss is more beneficial than irrigating.
Lets have another cup of Tea!
Jayesh.
While this may be true, there is another aspect to it. That of "How much water is saved from getting evaporated by a Tea Plant? It is this second aspect which I wish to touch upon. As for the article on bbc website, the link is http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8628832.stm
It says, 30 Ltrs of water is used to make one cup of Tea.
However, speaking about our brew here, may I raise a question for our learned folks :-
How much water loss is prevented by cultivating the soil for making 1 Kg of Tea?
Let us consider the following positives:-
Nearly 12000 to 18000 plants of Tea per hectare.
Nearly 400 to 800 Shade trees per hectare, mostly of the leguminous variety.
A green carpet cover over the land for thousands of hectare, preventing direct loss of moisture from the soil.
Preventing ill effects of the ever increasing intensity of UV rays of the sun on the soil, by blocking / filtering it.
Consider the Contour drainage adopted by the Tea plantations, where water is just not allowed to run off, without optimum percolation. This prevents soil erosion, wastage of water, as well as surface water logging.
And many more. I hope I have been able to kindle the thought process!
To share a personal experience, we made a record crop of 2.3 million Kgs with a rainfall of 58" as against 2.1 million in the previous year with 119" and again 2.3 million in the next year with 75".
I learned a few things from this:-
It is distribution that really matters, and not the quantum.
Irrigation is often overdone (by the fortunate few who can afford it).
Some panic easily, and irrigate without measuring soil / moisture tension.
Prevention of water loss is more beneficial than irrigating.
Lets have another cup of Tea!
Jayesh.
