The rainfall started in mid-April in Ilam and lasted till first week of October. It rained this Saturday as well. Due to this the growth of tea leaves was slow, said Damber Katuwal of Kanyam. Previously, there would be 1,000 kg of tea in one picking but this year it was only 750 kg, he said.[break]
"This year the tea leaves suffered from fungal diseases due to long and continuous rainfall," said Khagraj Ghimire of Shreeantu. The fungus would disappear in the sunny days but this year due to continuous rainfall and fog, the fungus didn´t go, he added. He informed that this year the fungal disease was found in 78 types of tea.
"Previously, tea leaves would be picked every seven days but this year it was possible only in 10-12 days, said Ganesh Aryal of Kolbung. The farmers of Shreeantu said that this year the production has decreased by 40 percent.
There was long drought in Ilam before April that led to the decline in the tea production in the beginning. Tea leaves are plucked from March to November. The tea requires little rainfall but the continuous rainfall had badly affected the tea production said Dhan Bahadur Rai of Fikkal.
According to Tea and Coffee Development Board, 7593 farmers of Illam, Jhapa, Tehrathum, Dhankuta have been planting tea in 16, 420 hectares of land. In Ilam alone, around 4,500 farmers have been planting tea in around 4,000 hectares of land.
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