Jalpaiguri, Sep 5: Now
planters don’t have to worry about dry spells which
make them suffer huge losses.
According to sources, the Tea Research Association
(TRA) is in the process of creating tea clones that can survive
adverse dry conditions.
Though, the Darjeeling Hills and the Terai
areas get adequate rainfall, it is scarce in other belts like
the Dooars and the lower Assam belt. This, in turn, affects
the production adversely.
The new drought-resistant variety will help
tea planters reduce their losses in long dry-spells. A new
variety is also planned to improve the quality of the tea.
The TRA has already developed 30 tea clones
through intensive research. The two new clones, named TR-31
and TR-32, will be released this year.