2. Introduction
North -East India is one of the wettest regions of the world with an average annual rainfall of
2000mm. The region also has a dense network of drainage channels with as many as 7 rivers
-basins lying in it. The region as such is very rich in water resource. But this has never before
been tapped for agricultural purposes, because the subsistence economy of the region with a
limited population and abundant cultivated land did not realise the necessity of growing more
crops than what was actually needed. But with a tremendous growth of population on the one
hand and subsistence economy being replaced partially by modern industrial-commercial
economy on the other, the need for growing more crops has arisen. As such the need of
irrigation in the region is being increasingly felt.
A scientific probe into the present agricultural status of the region reveals that there is a great
need of irrigation to develop agricultural production. The necessity is caused mainly by
climatic factors but there are other factors too. In respect of the climatic factors, it is firstly
seen that although the region has average annual rainfall of more than 2000 mm, about 80%
of it comes between late June and late September. From about late September the rainfall
becomes scanty and the months of November, December, January, February, and March
remain practically dry except an occasional shower. Although a few thunder-showers occur
in April and May, the water thus provided is partly absorbed by the thirsty soil lying under
the long dry spell and partly lost in evapo-transpiration. In this long spell of drought the small
rivers, rivulets, streams, ponds, ponds tanks and other shallow water bodies run dry, Even the
underground water level sinks down by 10- 15 metres. Under such circumstances no large
scale ravi crop can be carried out during the dry season from October to May without the help
of irrigation.
72% of the area of the North -East India is hilly, the water from rainfall run down the hill
slopes as sheet flood in these areas leaving little water for crops. In the hill slopes and hill
tops the jhum cultivation may not need much water, but for tea and other horticultural crops
cultivation on the terraces, irrigational facilities are a must.
In plains of the region there are sandy tracts, especially by the side of the present and old
river courses. As water percolates down in the sandy tracts, no crops can be grown unless
they are constantly supplied with water. Although such sandy tract are otherwise suitable for
the growth of various vegetables and cash crops, in the absence of water supply production
from them becomes very low. Irrigation. Therefore, is necessary in such areas.
Realising the need of irrigation for increase in agricultural production, top priority began to
be given on it and during the Fifth Five Year Plan period Irrigation Department was opened
in all the states in the region which was entrusted with launching irrigation projects.
In spite of such efforts, out of the total agricultural land in the North East India, only 8.1 lac
hectares (22.50%) have been brought under irrigation. It is less than the national norm of
25.55%, Amongst the states of the region. Manipur has the highest percentage (46.4%) of its
total agricultural area under irrigation followed by Nagaland (40. 5%) Meghalaya (25.9%)
Arunachal Pradesh (21.4%), Assam (21.2%) Mizoram (12.3%) and Tripura (11.8%).
Potential Of Drip Irrigation In North East India
3. Drip Irrigation North East !!!!
The region has drip irrigation potential for 1 M ha. As compared to this, the area covered in
the region is negligible.
Area coverage under drip
State Drip (ha)
Arunachal Pradesh 613
Assam 300
Meghalaya 16
Manipur 341
Mizoram 124
Nagaland 816
Sikkim 23,460
West Bengal 247
Total 25517
State wise drip potential in different crop in northeast:-
State Crop
West Bengal Tea, vegetable, orange, beetle-vine
Sikkim Orange, vegetable, floriculture
Assam Tea, vegetable
Nagaland Floriculture, pineapple, vegetable
Meghalaya Pineapple, floriculture
Tripura Rubber, oil palm, vegetable
Arunachal Pradesh Kiwi, orange, vegetable, pear, rubber
Potential Of Drip Irrigation In North East India
4. Cost Of Drip Irrigation And Govt Support
All the North Eastern States, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttaranchal and
Darjeeling district of West Bengal would come under Category „C.‟ Category „C‟ States it is
estimated to be 25% higher than Category „A‟ States. In Sikkim state govt and center govt
give accumulated sum of 50 % of total total cost of project. Here there is no farmer
contribution towards drip irrigation installation in their farm. In same manner Assam will
implement the drip irrigation programme to utilize money for drip irrigation from central
govt because farmer are not ready to contribute 50% share in drip irrigation project.
Cost of drip irrigation system
State Category Average Cost, Rs./ha
A 40, 000
B 46,000
C 50,000
Cost of Sprinkler Irrigation System
Coupler diameter Cost (Rs.)/ha
(mm)
63 mm 13690
75 mm 14270
90 mm 17280
Potential Of Drip Irrigation In North East India
5. What changes does drip irrigation bring to farming?
In a 2010 study, “Impact of Drip Irrigation on Farming System: Evidence from Southern
India” by Tamil Nadu Agriculture University, researchers examined the before-and-after
effects of 50 farms growing bananas that switched from sprinkler irrigation to drip irrigation
between 2007 and 2008 in the Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu. The results are as follows:
.
Tea Plantation
India is one of the major tea growing countries of the world, producing about 28% of the
world production annually. The other leading producers are China, Kenya and Sri Lanka.
Today the major tea growing states are Assam, West Bengal, Tripura, Tamil Nadu, Kerala
and Karnataka. Himachal Pradesh and Uttaranchal are also traditional tea growing states,
albeit to a less significant extent. Besides, tea plantation has come up recently in states like
Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Sikkim, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Bihar, Orissa, etc. Mizoram has
also the potential for development of commercial tea plantation. Total area under tea
cultivation is 5.8 lac hectares and production is 9865 lac kg in India. Potential of drip
irrigation in tea is Rs. 10, 000 crore.
Distribution of tea in India:-
Major States Percentage
Assam 52.6
West Bengal 21.6
Tripura 1.3
Others 2.1
North India 77.6
Tamil Nadu 14.8
Kerala 7.2
Karnataka 0.4
South India 22.4
Total All India 100
Potential Of Drip Irrigation In North East India
6. Drip irrigation in tea:-
Areas of Study
Assam
Assam is India‟s largest tea producing state with total area under cultivation is 3, 21,000
hectare and production of 5118 lac kg of tea. There are 68591 small grower in Assam.
Dibrugarh accounts for 30 % of the total tea gardens followed by Tinsukia 22 %, Jorhat 13
%, Golaghat 12 %, Sivasagar 11 % and other districts contain 11 %.
1. Upper Assam Tea Plantation(North Bank of Brahmaputra river)
Upper Assam tea estate is in the North Bank Of Brahmaputra river here soil is young
Alluvial type and rainfall is very much erratic now days, soil under which tea plantation is
under alluvial soil mixed with small stone and area is not flat but undulated so, it make soil
such that water percolate downward after rain. Water is not available for tea after few day of
rain. These areas include Lakimpur, Sonitpur, Tezpur e.t.c. which account for 10% of total
area under tea of Assam.
Note:- potential area for drip irrigation in coming time.
2. Lower Assam Tea Plantation(South Bank of Brahmaputra river)
Lower Assam tea estate is in the South Bank Of Brahmaputra river soil here is young
Alluvial type, but in some places Alluvial soil has high silt which cause maximum runoff of
rain water and water is not available for tea plant. These areas include Jorhat, Golaghat,
Dibrugarah, Tinsukia, Sivsagar e.t.c. of these area Tinsikia, Dibrugarah, Jorhat and Sivsagar
has no irrigation problem but they are very innovative so, we can promote drip irrigation for
fertigation. This area account for more than 85 % tea plantation in Assam.
Note:-Golaghat Is The Highest Potential Area.
3. Cachar Tea estate.
This area is in lower Assam here tea estate is very sparsely distributed 112 tea garden are
located here of which maximum produce green tea.
West Bengal
Total area under tea cultivation in west Bengal is 114,525 hectare comprising of 309
organised tea estates and 8078 small tea grower. West Bengal contributes 25 % of India‟s tea
production. Sprinkler is widely used in tea garden for irrigation in Dooars and Terai region.
Of about 70 % of garden is irrigated by sprinkler in this region.
1. Dooars Tea Plantation
Potential Of Drip Irrigation In North East India
7. Dooars is in the north-eastern part of West Bengal in the lap of Himalaya. There are 163 big
gardens in Dooars of almost all big tea grower groups. Here maximum tea garden use
sprinkler irrigation system for irrigating their tea garden. That area which doesn‟t have any
irrigation facility can be persuaded for installation of drip irrigation.
2. Darjeeling Tea Plantation
Today there are 87 tea plantations in and around Darjeeling town, producing superfine
Darjeeling tea. The average yield is very low – 400 to 450 kilograms per hectare, compared
with the national average of 1 800 kilograms per hectare. 100 % of tea estate is on hill so, the
land topography is much undulated which make it unfit for flood and sprinkler method of
irrigation. In coming time drip will be best method of irrigation in Darjeeling tea because of
increasing day by day water scarcity in the hill. Unproductive four months of winter from
November to February is due to low temperature and not availability of water for irrigation.
3. Terai Tea plantation
This tea garden is in the foot hill of West Bengal, these gardens get heavy rains during
monsoon. There are 59 big tea garden and many small tea growers in this region. We can
target small grower here because these group have money and they are ready to use new
technology.
For this project i have divided tea garden into three different types depending upon their
Potential Of Drip Irrigation In North East India
8. behaviour towards adopting innovative technology. Small Growers Holding Less Than 4 Ha
Constitute 74% Of The Total Growers, Accounting For 15% Area
1. Small tea garden(1-10 hectare land holding)
2. Medium tea garden(10-100 hectare land holding)
3. Large tea garden(more than 100 hectare land holding)
4. Group tea garden(big business group )
Behaviour of different grower towards drip irrigation!!!
Small tea grower
They are grower with 1-10 hectare of tea plantation, they are owner and labour to their
garden, they sell their tea leaf to other big group who has their own tea factory, they are
not financially strong to invest huge amount of money for their garden. These gardens
are not our target garden now.
Medium tea grower
These are the grower who take care their own garden, they are manager as well as owner
of their garden. They have money for further investment but they are highly
knowledgeable so, this group can be targeted now.
Large tea grower
These tea grower have well controlled management system, owner is MD and is sole
decision maker of their garden. Manager has very little role to play, these garden owner are
leader in adopting innovative technology. They are financially sound.
Group tea garden
These group garden having thousands and thousands hectare of area under tea cultivation.
Many groups are cash rich but all decision is made in their head quarter where there are
many members in board panel with different mind set-up. Decision maker are not aware
about Real field situation and they are dependent on manager of garden.
Potential Of Drip Irrigation In North East India
9. Group Garden selected for survey
1. Duncan group.
2. Jayshree group.
3. Goodricke group.
4. Tata tea group.
5. Dhanshree group.
6. McLeod Russel group.
7. Apjeey tea.
8. Rossel tea.
9. Assam tea company.
10. Sona tea.
e.t.c
Case study of Tea in Assam
• Client Name: M K Shah Exports Limited
• Estate Name: Koilmari Tea Estate
• Division: Joyhing
• Total Garden area: 850 Ha
• Drip area: 120 Ha
Potential Of Drip Irrigation In North East India
10. • Year of Completion: Jan-2012
• Location: Lakimpur, Assam
Result of drip on yield of Tea
Month Drip area yield(k.g/Ha) Non Drip area yield(k.g/ha)
March 98 45
April 260 206
May 531 429
June-15 670.56 552.30
Why drip irrigation in tea?
Tea productivity is day by day decreasing due to following reason:-
1. Adverse climatic condition i.e. Erratic rain, long dry spell
2. Traditional cultural operation. i.e. Fertilizer application, irrigation
3. Decreasing fertility of soil due to soil erosion & leaching of nutrients.
4. Reduced water-holding capacity of soil due to decrease in organic matter in soil.
5. Lower cation exchange of soil.
6. Increasing soil salinity due to flood irrigation & acidification (pH down to 3.8)
7. Unavailability of labour for culture operation.
8. Loss in important soil biota (reduced up to 70%)
9. Compaction of the soil surface due to heavy irrigation.
10. High drought sensitivity of new high yield clonal tea varieties
11. Older tea bush
Drip, sprinkler and flood method are the two way to irrigation in tea estate. Due to low cost
of sprinkler system it is the important method of irrigation in garden, in Assam about 15 % of
total cultivable land are under sprinkler of which 99 % is under tea cultivation. Same
situation is in Dooars and Terai of West Bengal where maximum garden has sprinkler
irrigation facility.
Sprinkler irrigation is the most widely accepted method in tea gardens of North East India.
Drip irrigation is confined to seed bed i.e. nursery. In horticultural crops flood irrigation is
widely adopted.
Distribution of rainfall in North East India is highly uneven. During the period from October-
Potential Of Drip Irrigation In North East India
11. February, rainfall is scanty and the quantity varies from 5 to 10% of the annual rainfall. In
this period average evaporation exceeds average precipitation by 8 to 357 mm. Therefore,
conservation and supplementation of soil moisture by irrigation becomes necessary during
this period of moisture stress.
Tea plantation irrigation & Nutrigation
Introduction
Tea growing is an increasingly competitive business all over the world. Instability in tea
prices and in profit margins affects growers, tea estate owners and investors. In addition, a
wide spectrum of concerns needs to be addressed, including; Global warming and growing
threats of drought Decreasing yields from non-irrigated tea fields High drought sensitivity
new high yield clonal tea varieties Large fluctuations in annual tea production Inefficient and
outdated irrigation system As a conclusion new tea growing strategies will have to be
implemented to address most of these concerns.
The drip irrigation solution
Nutrigation™ ensures optimal delivery of water and nutrients directly to the plant's active
root zone. Lower evaporation rate saves water, prevents run off, deep percolation and
leaching of nutrient reserves All farm practices (plucking, mechanical harvesting, weeding,
etc.) can continue uninterrupted while Nutrigation™ scheduling is optimally operated.
Drought threats are eliminated. New high-yield clonal tea varieties which are more sensitive
to drought than the seedling varieties, thrive thanks to high-precision Nutrigation™. The
result is a significant increase of the tea yield and an improvement in the annual production
curve. Cost savings in labor due to minimal hand-on involvement in irrigation and
fertilization and in the processing plant. Better economical results: Reduced costs per kg
production of "Made Tea", improved Net Present Value (NPV) and Internal Rate of Return
(IRR). Focusing on Tea Production and Research Drip irrigation systems for specific tea
production environments are successfully operating in Tanzania and Kenya.
Netafim is also involved in drip irrigation experiments to ascertain the most profitable water
and fertilizer levels for Asian and East African tea clones. Among the research partners are
the Tea Research Institute of Tanzania and the Tea Research Institute of Sri Lanka.
Drip irrigation systems
Pump unit and mainline pipe, head control comprising valves, filtration and fertilizer
injection unit, sub-main pipes and valves for each irrigation block. Double row spaced
laterals with integral pressure compensated dripper featuring highest irrigation uniformity and
clogging resistance. Drip irrigation system can operate in any topography, field layout, and
soil type and water quality. Optional: Remote control Nutrigation™ system
Method of determination of Irrigation Requirement
Plant water use may be measured or estimated. Direct measurement requires sophisticated
apparatus. Therefore it is usual to rely on indirect measurements like monitoring of soil
Potential Of Drip Irrigation In North East India
12. moisture status, or on estimates based on meteorological observations. Less sophisticated
equipment like tensiometer can be used to monitor soil moisture status. However, the
meteorological observations seem to be the only practical approach for large tracts under tea.
The environmental factors determine the potential evapotranspiration, the plant factors
determine the water requirement for growth, and the soil factors determine the water holding
capacity and moisture release characteristics. There are several models available for indirect
measurement of evapotranspiration (ET).
Estimates of Penman‟s ET based on meteorological data have been worked out for different
tea growing regions of North East India:
Regions Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr
South Bank 127 89 68 64 86 135 158
North Bank 128 89 66 64 87 139 153
Cachar 144 111 83 82 108 157 174
Dooars 138 100 76 75 95 150 164
The irrigation requirement should also take into account the rainfall during the period of
moisture stress. In North East India high intensity rainfall causing surface runoff occurs
during monsoon. The intensity, duration and rainfall-runoff analysis during November to
April shows that almost the entire rain received during this period can be taken as effective
rainfall (ER) from irrigation point of view. Regional analysis of effective rainfall for different
return periods during droughty months was carried out at Tocklai from long-term rainfall
data. The difference of ET and ER for the period October to April can be considered as the
total irrigation requirement.
Estimates of irrigation requirement
Regions of North East Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr
India
South Bank
ET, mm 122 66 42 35 43 65 84
ER, mm (1 in 5 yrs) 39 2 0 5 17 18 84
Net irrigation 83 64 42 30 26 47 -
requirement, mm
North Bank
ET, mm 117 65 37 30 42 86 144
ER, mm (1 in 5 yrs) 34 0 1 1 2 12 58
Net irrigation 83 65 36 29 40 74 86
requirement, mm
Cachar
ET, mm 137 83 48 38 53 97 137
ER mm (1 in 5 yrs) 68 3 0 0 2 19 117
Net irrigation 69 80 48 38 51 78 20
requirement, mm
Potential Of Drip Irrigation In North East India
13. Dooars
ET, mm 105 65 43 36 45 90 118
ER mm (1 in 5 yrs) 44 0 0 1 5 5 48
Net irrigation 61 65 43 35 40 85 70
requirement, mm
Irrigation in Young Tea
In planning irrigation first priority should be given to the newly planted young tea. Among
tea areas those having coarse texture soil and in the hills especially the south facing slopes
should also get priority. Now days maximum newly planted tea is clone type which is very
sensitive to drought. Assured irrigation is required during drought for proper development of
bush of tea.
Mature Tea
Maximum response of irrigation is generally obtained in the best sections of existing mature
tea areas. For this it will be also essential to identify and remove other limiting factors. The
best results are expected to come from irrigating unprune or early light skiffed teas. In
general, depending upon rainfall received in October irrigation should commence from
November and continue till March/April. The first application in November can be a little
more than the estimated field irrigation requirement followed by five more applications, each
at an interval of three weeks. In severely drought prone years, irrigation in April may be
necessary but after the rainfall in April exceeds 75-125 mm, irrigation can be discontinued.
As in the case of young tea, irrigation schedule should not be interrupted except after heavy
rainfall exceeding 38 mm and then for not longer than 2-3 days. The quality of the water used
for irrigation should be checked prior to use.
Reasons for slow growth of area under drip irrigation
1. High capital cost required for the system
2. Subsidy is not available for tea and rubber which is main commercial crop of this
area.
3. Result of drip in tea will be different from south India or other tea growing area of
world because tea productivity depends on combination of all factors like climate and
cultural practice. In north east India from month of November to February there is
cold climate in this period tea plant go under dormant stage so, even drip can‟t induce
leaf production but drip will help in inducing early leaf production with full potential
4. Benefit-cost ratio has not been adequately demonstrated to farmers.
5. Poor awareness about the importance of drip irrigation.
6. After sale service is not satisfactory.
7. Free electricity and low price of canal water.
8. Fear about system clogging among the farmers.
9. Promotional schemes are not available in many states.
10. Poor extension and training facilities to farmers.
Potential Of Drip Irrigation In North East India
14. Recommendation!!!
1. It is understood from our field study that capital cost required to install drip irrigation
is relatively high. Because of this reason, considerable percentage of farmers have
expressed that they are unable to adopt this technology. If drip system is made
available with low cost, area under drip irrigation can be increased at a faster rate.
Example drip line in alternate row reduces cost upto 45 % in tea.
2. Drip in tea is very complex method because of much undulated topography of tea
estate and very old age tea bush. So, people should be trained specially for making
design of tea garden for drip.
3. Farmers have inadequate knowledge regarding the usefulness of liquid fertilisers.
Though a few farmers in our field study have used liquid fertilisers along with water,
most of the farmers are afraid to use liquid fertilisers through drip pipe network.
4. First manual drip irrigation should be installed then automation should be done
because people are not able to understand the properly how system operate and they
do mistake. Example Koilamari Tea Estate.
5. Drip in tea is very new concept in North East so; promoting drip irrigation by
introducing frequent demonstration will develop confidence among the farmers about
the usefulness of this new technology.
6. A special package scheme can be introduced. Some time people ask for finding best
possible water source from available water source. Example Samsing Tea Estate.
7. Netafim should tie-up with TRA and other organisation doing research in tea because
maximum Tea grower believes in the research work done by them.
8. Detailed research work should be done in drip on tea so, that we will be able to give
various question answer by potential customer.
What will be the payback period? Whether investment will be viable? How
much will be the water saving? And what will be the productivity gains?
Tea Statistic of North-East India
Productivity
In general, the productivity in North is less than in South. It is primarily due to the
comparatively coarser standard of plucking resorted to in South India. It is reflected in the
quality and price realisation factors also. The overall productivity has remained almost static
during the last three years
Productivity kg/hectare:-
Potential Of Drip Irrigation In North East India
15. State 2000 2001 2002
Assam 1,688 1,675 1,611
West Bengal 1,648 1,732 1,726
Tripura 971 952 896
Total North India 1,629 1,643 1,596
Tamil Nadu 1,745 1,741 1,709
Kerala 1,887 1,796 1,630
Karnataka 2,596 2,577 2,358
Total South India 1,807 1,774 1,696
Total All India 1,669 1,672 1,618
Compares ion of no of garden, area, production and average yield of Assam to India
Year No. of Tea Area under Tea Total Tea Average yield
Gardens (in '000 hectare) Production (kg / hectare)
(in 000 kg.)
Assam India Assam India Assam India Assam India
2001 40795 116659 269 510 453587 853923 1685 1675
2002 43272 127801 271 516 433327 838474 1601 1625
2003 43293 129027 272 520 434759 878129 1601 1690
2004 43293 129027 272 521 435649 892965 1603 1713
2005 49102 140712 301 556 487487 945974 1622 1703
2006 NA NA 312 567 502041 981805 1610 1732
2007 NA NA 321 578 511885 986427 1593 1705
Source: Economic Survey Assam 2009-10
District wise Area under Tea in Assam:
(Figures in hectares)
District 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Darrang 41037 41367 41693 41158 41300 41388 41677 41710
Goalpara 3460 3471 3523 3635 3643 4215 4451 4451
Kamrup 3442 3436 3454 3466 3460 3787 3782 3953
Lakhimpur 4815 4763 4793 4839 4873 6301 6724 6756
Dibrugarh 93076 93484 93698 95118 95118 114435 120489 122514
Nowgong 7994 8004 8041 8114 8135 8605 8709 8758
Sibsagar 74807 76113 76762 77135 77135 83971 88008 94611
Cachar 32008 32703 32775 32137 32149 31894 31805 32312
Karbi 1869 1748 1873 1923 1923 1885 2201 2185
Anlong
North 4004 4065 4071 4064 4032 4021 3976 4069
Cachar
Total 266512 269154 270683 271589 271768 300502 311822 321319
Assam
Potential Of Drip Irrigation In North East India
16. Source: Tea Board, Guwahati
District-wise Average Yield Rate of Tea:
(Figures in Kg/Hectares)
District 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Darrang 1877 1891 1817 1951 1949 1988 2001 2037
Goalpara 1820 1826 1712 1688 1555 1251 1421 1538
Kamrup 1250 1335 1284 1250 1244 1062 984 1007
Lakhimpur 1883 1905 1894 1757 1699 1331 1337 1357
Dibrugarh 1756 1787 1697 1843 1875 1847 1858 1839
Nowgaon 1475 1479 1455 1428 1350 1374 1233 1419
Sibsagarh 1604 1572 1501 1305 1325 1350 1332 1254
Cachar 1537 1523 1390 1289 1206 1406 1315 1366
Karbi 1041 1113 1167 1055 1046 882 764 768
Anglong
North 1543 1258 1066 1092 1149 1098 1065 1164
Cachar
Total 1686 1685 1601 1601 1603 1622 1610 1593
Assam
Source: Tea Board, Guwahati
Month-wise Production of Tea in Assam, (2007-2008 and 2008-2009): (in Tonne)
Month 2007-2008 2008-2009
April 33929 37711
May 49278 30852
June 50530 55666
July 61908 71969
August 52167 77555
September 85999 56991
October 67544 74139
November 53843 38643
December 19073 17976
January 4961 5919
February 1714 112
March 4738 16448
Total 485684 483981
Source : Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Govt. of Assam.
Rubber cultivation in North-East
Tripura
India ranks third in terms of production of Natural Rubber in the World after Thailand and
Malayasia. Kerala is the largest and Tripura is the second largest producer of natural rubber
in the country. In Tripura rubber plants (Hevea brasiliensis) were introduced for soil and
moisture conservation by Forest Department in 1963. Rubber is a tropical crop and grows
Potential Of Drip Irrigation In North East India
17. well in Tripura. The species has proved excellent for permanent settlement of tribal jhumias.
Till 2009-10, about 11,622.37 hectors area is brought under by the State agencies and 39,669
82 hectors by the Rubber Board of India and therefore, totalling to 51,292.19 hectors area is
actually brought under the rubber plantation The total production of rubber in the State is
26,191 MT in 2009-10.
Year wise extension in area of rubber plantation in Tripura till during 1976-77 to 2009-10:
Year Area (in Ha.)
1976-1977 574
1981-1982 3,590
1986-1987 10,085
1991-1992 17,860
1996-1997 23,936
2001-2002 30,575
2006-2007 35,760
2007-2008 39,670
2008-2009 46,588
2009-2010 51,292.19
Source: Economic Survey of Tripura 2009-10
The study conducted by the National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning, as a part
of exploratory study for the World Bank Assistance revealed that approximately 1 lakh
hectares of land is suitable for rubber plantation in the State. This offers tremendous
scope drip irrigation in rubber. Apex Bodies of Industries and Commerce like CII etc. have
also realized the importance and the potential of rubber cultivation in the State. It is also
proposed to engage an external agency to study the feasibility to extend rubber cultivation in
an are not exceeding 10 percent of the total geographical area of the State.
Oil Palm
Oil palm is cultivated in about more than 1000 hectare in Mizoram and 120 hectare in
Tripura. There is drip irrigation project of govt from few years, this year there is tender of 2
crore for drip in oil palm this year in future also there will be many tender for drip. Many
private companies also started large scale cultivation of oil palm in Mizoram and Tripura.
There will be huge potential of drip irrigation in coming days in oil palm nursery and oil
palm plantation.
Water Requirements in oil palm
Oil palm requires adequate irrigation, as it is a fast growing crop with high productivity and
biomass production. Annual water requirement is in the range of 1300mmMature plantations,
during peak summer, the daily requirement may go up to 300-350 liters/tree.
Yield related irrigation management.
Potential Of Drip Irrigation In North East India
18. The climate changes around the globe causing longer periods of time without rain. Although
oil palm is growing naturally in tropical climate productivity is affected. Oil palm yield
potential is reduced when trees are exposed to stressful conditions. Low moisture is the most
common stressful condition oil palm faces. The most critical periods for oil palm are 24
months, 18 months, and 6 months prior to maturation of the fruit bunches. 24 months before
fruit maturity is when sex selection of the flowers occurs. If oil palm trees are subjected to
stress at this critical time, a higher proportion of the flowers become male flowers, which do
not become fruit. 18 months before fruit maturity is the time of floral abortion.
If oil palm trees are subjected to stress at this critical time, fewer flowers develop so a smaller
number of fruit is produced. 6 months before fruit maturity is the time of pollination. If oil
palm is subjected to stress at this critical time, less pollination occurs and a smaller number of
fruit is produced Potential benefit of irrigation
Horticultural crop
In North-Eastern state horticultural crop is the main crop. The total area under horticultural
crops is around 822.5 thousand hectare which is around 3.14% of the total geographical area
of the region (Agril Research Data Book, ICAR-2002) and it gives total production of 6818.4
thousand tonnes. The region is characterized by difficult terrain, wide variability in slope and
altitude, land tenure system and cultivation practices. The diverse agroclimatic conditions,
varied soil type and abundance of rainfall offer immense scope for cultivation of different
types of horticultural crops, including fruits, vegetables, flowers, plantation crops, tuber and
rhizomatous crops and crops of medicinal and other economic values. But due to high slope
water runoff from the field is very high; water available for plant is very less. So, drip
irrigation will be the important method of irrigation in coming future because of uneven
distribution of rain. Fruits grown in this region range from tropical and sub-tropical fruits
like banana, papaya, pineapple and citrus to temperate fruits like apple, pear, peach,
plum and even certain nut fruits. The region has rich diversity of different vegetable crops
and both indigenous tropical vegetables and temperate vegetables are grown to a considerable
extent. The major vegetables grown in the regions are brinjal, cabbage, cauliflower,
okra, onion, pea, potato, tomato, knol-khol, radish, carrot, French bean and different
cucurbitaceous crops.
Note: - potential horticultural crop for drip will be citrus, banana, kiwi, pineapple.
Crop wise area and production of fruit crops in NE region
Crop NE states India
Area Production Productivity Area Production Productivity
(,000 (,000 tonnes) (t/ha) (,000 (t/ha)
ha) ha) (,000 tonnes)
Pineapple 47.4 519.8 11.0 74.2 1006 13.6
Papaya 11.4 133.9 11.8 67.7 1582 23.4
Mango 3.7 21.8 5.9 1402.0 9782 7.0
Litchi 9.9 46.5 4.7 56.2 428.9 7.6
Guava 6.4 59.7 9.3 151.3 1801.0 11.9
Potential Of Drip Irrigation In North East India
19. Citrus 57.2 300.7 5.3 488.1 4575.0 9.4
Banana 60.6 744.6 12.3 464.3 15073.0 32.5
Apple 6.7 16.3 2.4 231.4 1380.0 6.0
Other 45.7 434.9 9.5 699.0 6664.0 9.5
Source: Agril. Research Data Book ICAR
References
Darjeeling tea, India,by,Tarit Kumar Datta (Indian Institute of Management
Calcutta)
Efficiency of irrigation: a case of drip irrigation by:- A. Narayanamoorthy (nbard)
The influence of climatic factor on the yield of tea in Assam valley By:- A. R. Sen, A.
K. Biswas.
Socio-economic-techno-environmental assessment of IDEI products By: Teri
Micro Irrigation Guideline
The Tea Industry In India :A Survey By:- Dr. K.G. Karmakar (Executive Director),
Nabard, Mumbai
Potential For Drip And Sprinkler Irrigation In India Abstract By:-A. Narayanamoorthy
http://www.teauction.com/statistics/indprodstate.asp
http://www.nitm.in/index.html
http://www.teaboard.gov.in/
http://www.tocklai.net/
http://rubberboard.org.in/
http://tfdpc.com/about7.htm
http://tripura.nic.in/indm4.htm
http://www.neramac.com/
http://agricoop.nic.in/horticulture/micro_guidelines.htm
http://ncpahindia.com/scheme1e.php
http://gbpihedenvis.nic.in/HTML/vol11_2/rkyadav.htm
http://arunachalpradesh.nic.in/dhorti.htm
http://www.sfacindia.com/Docs/HMNEH_MIS_Report.pdf
Potential Of Drip Irrigation In North East India
