How to Start Tea Plantation Farming Business?

Commercial coffee plantations or coffee cultivation is a lucrative industry. However, like any farming operation, a coffee farm requires a lot of space. Moreover, it can only grow in an area where the temperature remains above 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius). In this post, we’ll discuss how to get started with a small coffee farm or coffee plantation.

Tea is a favorite drink all around the globe, but it is also a social and cultural connection. It is a sign of hospitality and an important part of daily life. It is the largest manufactured drink on the entire planet and the most accepted drink everywhere.

Demand for teas depends mainly on two things: the prices and incomes of consumers; and the demographic characteristics of the population (age, gender, etc.). Other factors include health issues and consumer preferences.

Read: How to start a profitable tea processing business

Apart from the direct impact of consumers’ demand for teas, other major factors affecting global prices include trends and changes in per-capita sales, market access, the effect of pest and disease outbreaks on production, and changing supply chain dynamics among retailers, wholesalers, and multinationals.

In addition to being one of the oldest drinks known to man, coffee is also one of the most widely consumed beverages in the entire globe.

With more than 300 million people drinking coffee every day, it’s no wonder that coffee producers across the planet are working hard to improve the quality of their products.

Coffee beans come from a number of places around the globe, including Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Honduras, Mexico, Peru, Panama, and Venezuela. However, the vast majority of the coffee produced comes from just three regions: Central America, South America, and East Africa.

Health Benefits of Tea

First off, green teas contain antioxidants. However, black teas are better than green teas because they have more antioxidants. Green teas are not healthy because they contain too much sugar and calories. They also have high amounts of fluoride. Black teas do not contain fluoride. Black teas are best because they are full of antioxidants. Antioxidants fight disease and keep your body healthy.

Location & Agro Climatic Condition For Tea Plantation

Tea requires a moderate temperature and humidity. Temperature affects yields, crops, and quality. Therefore before growing tea in a new region, you should consider the suitableness of the environment. Tea grows best in rich, well-drained soils on hillsides.

Tea plants prefer temperatures between 18 and 28 degrees Celsius. However, they grow best at temperatures between 16 and 24 degrees Celsius.

Rainfall: 150–250 cm of rain is ideal for tea production.

Soil: Tea plants need fertile mountain soil containing lots of organic material (humus). They thrive best when they’re planted in well-drained soils.

Soil: Well-drained soil. Too much moisture is not good for growing teas. Mountain slopes with heavy rainfall but without any stagnation of the waters are good for growing teas

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Tea Plantation Basic Steps

Land Preparation

Land preparation is the initial stage. You should prepare the land, so your plants can absorb water and nutrients. Sowing three to five tea seedlings in an even distribution is recommended. Cover them with rich topsoils. Water them daily, before they grow.

Planting

It is important to plan ahead when planting tea trees. Proper planning and refinement of techniques will ensure long-lasting results.

Shade & Shade Trees

You should provide proper protection because it reduces heat and light radiation. Your garden will receive organic material from the leaves of the tree species. Several species are commonly used as tree species. Some of the common species include Albizzia Odorata, Albizzia Chinensis, Albbizzia Procera, and Accacia Lenticularis.

Manuring

Ensure adequate nutrients in your garden. However, you should check out your lawn before applying fertilizers. By doing so, you can find out what kind of nutrients your lawn needs. Then apply the right amount of fertilizer and nutrients to your lawn.

Recommended read: Is soil testing important in agriculture?

Irrigation & Drainage

Rainfall is usually the main source of water for plants. But you need to keep the ground moist at all times. So, conserving and supplementing the ground’s water supply through irrigation is necessary when there is drought.

It is important to determine the required water supply carefully. However, direct measurements require sophisticated equipment. Therefore, most farmers usually use indirect measurements like measuring the soil moisture level or relying on weather conditions for estimating the required water supply.

Drainages may be required depending on where you live. The open drain system includes a network of field and collector drains.

Plant Protection

You’ll find that the best way to keep your tea gardens healthy and productive is to monitor the health of your plants closely.

This means keeping an eye out for signs of disease and taking appropriate steps to prevent them before they can spread. IPM is the key to controlling pest populations without resorting to chemical treatments.

Pruning

Tea plantation managers must periodically perform prunings to ensure high production levels. To achieve this, they must remove dead leaves, twigs, branches, and shoots. In addition, they should also cut back on new growths.

Plucking

Plucking in coffee is synonymous with picking other crops. The tender apex portions of branches consist of two to three leaflets and the terminal buds are picked off in plucking. Once the processed shoot material is obtained, we get the coffee finally. A coffee plant gives the best yield in the 4th to 6th year.

Tea is an annual herbaceous plant native to China, Japan, Korea, India, Sri Lanka, Tibet, Nepal, Myanmar, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Samoa, Hawaii, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, Palau, Philippines, Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Federated States of, Kiribati, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Cook Islands, Wallis & Futuna, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Netherlands Antilles, Dominican Republic,