After typhoons and floods during the summer and autumn seasons, Tea gardens are prone to waterlogging and an increase in pest and disease outbreaks. Poor management can affect both the quantity and quality of tea production, directly impacting the economic income of tea farmers. Here are some key points to consider for managing tea gardens after a typhoon:
Carefully Inspect and Prevent Further Damage in Tea Gardens
Stay alert to weather forecasts and before a typhoon or heavy rain, inspect tea gardens and reinforce structures such as canopies and facilities. Prioritize the checking and clearing of irrigation ditches and dig drainage ditches where necessary, especially in low-lying areas where groundwater levels may be high; drainage ditches should be at least one meter deep. Also, move tea leaves, production materials, and equipment from low-lying areas to prevent damage.
Swiftly Drain Waterlogged Tea Gardens
After a typhoon or heavy rain, organize labor to quickly drain standing water from mature tea gardens. For flat tea gardens, promptly dig perimeter trenches around the garden and intermediate trenches within the garden to drain water, lowering the groundwater level to below one meter to reduce soil moisture and environmental humidity, preventing prolonged root immersion which could lead to root rot. For tea plant propagation bases and young tea gardens with weaker flood resistance, immediately dig trenches to drain water. Where possible, use pumps to speed up the process and minimize waterlogging and waterlogging damage.
Quickly Repair Damaged Tea Gardens
Rapidly repair damaged infrastructure such as roads, ditches, and pump stations in tea gardens to facilitate post-disaster recovery. Focus on restoring irrigation facilities, damaged greenhouses, and shade structures in affected tea plant propagation bases. For mountainous and hilly tea gardens, promptly repair roads, ditches, and terraces, ensuring that water and transportation flow smoothly to prevent secondary disasters. For collapsed tea gardens, quickly organize reconstruction efforts to restore the garden's appearance.
Manage Tea Gardens Post-Disaster
Strengthen tree care. For tea gardens submerged by floodwaters, quickly remove mud and debris from the canopy to keep it clean. Remove accumulated soil and sand from waterlogged gardens. Prop up fallen tea plants in young gardens and cover the roots with soil. For tea plants with prolonged waterlogging and severe root damage showing signs of wilting, after draining the water and clearing the soil, use a pruning machine for severe pruning or deep pruning to reduce water evaporation and nutrient consumption, preventing whole plant death. For tea plants with exposed roots or root damage, promptly cover with soil and prune dragging branches covered in mud and broken branches. Other less severely affected gardens should be pruned promptly to cultivate productive canopies and encourage even bud growth.
Enhance Soil Fertilization Management. Flooding in tea gardens leads to nutrient loss and soil compaction, so it is important to replenish nutrients and loosen the soil. First, apply foliar fertilizers like amino acids to promote new leaf growth and quickly restore tree vigor. Second, apply decomposed organic fertilizers and compound fertilizers through trench application (about 15 cm deep), covering the fertilizer with soil afterward to promote new root growth in tea plants.
Strengthen Pest, Disease, and Weed Control. First, strengthen pest control. Currently, it is peak season for pests like the tea looper, gray tea looper, and mites, so promptly repair and install green pest control facilities such as insect traps and pheromone lures. When the threshold for the tea looper and gray tea looper is reached, use efficient biological pesticides like short-stable bacillus and virus preparations for control; for mite control, spray mineral oil or release predatory mites, and prepare chemical pesticides like abamectin with low water solubility for emergency control; use plant-derived pesticides like matrine to control the tea green leafhopper. Second, prevent tea plant diseases. For severely waterlogged tea gardens, moderate pruning and spraying with 25% pyraclostrobin emulsion (1500-2000 times diluted) or 3% polyoxin D wettable powder can help reduce disease incidence. Third, pay attention to weed control. For young tea gardens, use crop straw, wild grass, green manure, etc., for inter-row mulching (about 10 cm thick) to suppress weed growth.