scholarly journals Labour Controls, Unfreedom and Perpetuation of Slavery on a Tea Plantation

2021 ◽  
pp. 095001702110215
Author(s):  
Khandakar Shahadat ◽  
Shahzad Uddin
Keyword(s):  
Working Hours ◽  
Incentive System ◽  
Freedom Of Choice ◽  
Tea Plantation ◽  
Organisational Context ◽  
Modern Slavery ◽  
Economic Exclusion ◽  
Tea Plantations

This article examines labour controls in traditional tea plantations in Bangladesh. This study finds how social and economic exclusion through discriminatory labour laws and labour–manager relations rooted in the ‘coolie’ system have built a captive workforce separated from the mainstream workforce. This ultimately produces and reproduces slavery–laden labour controls. An opaque but punitive incentive system, sunset-sunrise working hours, maximum engagement, and the restrictions of promotion to managerial posts are constant reminders of the historically rooted indentured labour system. This article contributes to understanding modern slavery in an organisational context and the obstacles that prevent ‘free’ labourers from walking away from exploitative conditions. Organisational sites such as tea plantations present clear examples of how specific types of labour control restrict freedom of choice and produce ‘willing slaves’.

Cover Crops Enhance Natural Enemies While Help Suppressing Pests in a Tea Plantation

2019 ◽  
Vol 112 (4) ◽  
pp. 348-355 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li-Lin Chen ◽  
Pei Yuan ◽  
Min-Sheng You ◽  
Gabor Pozsgai ◽  
Xu Ma ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Cover Crops ◽  
Beneficial Arthropods ◽  
Vigna Sinensis ◽  
Free Products ◽  
Tea Plantation ◽  
Tea Plantations ◽  
Trifolium Repens L ◽  
Arthropod Biodiversity ◽  
Sustainable Pest Control

Abstract Tea is an economically important crop, consumed by billions of people. Despite the increasing market for pesticide-free products, the use of pesticide in tea is still high. In order to investigate whether intercropping promotes biological control organisms, Chamaecrista rotundifolia (Pers.) Greene, Indigofera hendecaphylla Jacq., Trifolium repens L., and Vigna sinensis (L.) were separately intercropped with free weeding as control in a tea plantation at Yangli, China. Arthropods were collected by taking sweep-net samples, and treatment effects on assemblages were investigated. The combined species richness of all arthropods and that of parasitoids was significantly increased in intercropped treatments while the species richness of herbivores and predators was only greater in C. rotundifolia and I. hendecaphylla intercropped treatments. Compared with control, the combined abundance of all arthropods, and that of herbivores was lower, while the abundance of parasitoids and its taxa was greater in all intercropped treatments. The abundance of predators and its taxa was greater only in tea plantations intercropped with C. rotundifolia or I. hendecaphylla. Of the herbivores, the abundance of Empoasca onukii Matsuda, Sternorrhyncha, Aleyrodidae, and Pentatomidae was greater in the areas intercropped with C. rotundifolia in comparison with the control, but the abundance of Thysanoptera and Geometridae caterpillars was lower. The recorded increase in the abundance of beneficial arthropods may explain the lower abundance of Thysanoptera or Geometridae caterpillars detected in the intercropped tea plantations. Our results indicate that intercropping has the potential to enhance arthropod biodiversity, and to provide an option for sustainable pest control in tea plantations.

scholarly journals INDEKS STABILITAS AGREGAT TANAH PADA PERKEBUNAN TEH BERBASIS SLOPE DAN UMUR TANAMAN DI KECAMATAN GUNUNG TALANG KABUPATEN SOLOK

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-81
Author(s):  
Dendy Detafiano Prakasa Afner ◽  
A Aprisal ◽  
Y Yulnafatmawita
Keyword(s):  
Aggregate Stability ◽  
Stability Index ◽  
Soil Aggregate ◽  
Soil Physical Properties ◽  
Soil Samples ◽  
Tea Plantation ◽  
Soil Aggregate Stability ◽  
Tea Plantations ◽  
Chemical Conditions ◽  
Physical And Chemical

Land-use change from the forest into tea plantation in Solok Regency in 1983 has decreased the area of forests in Gunung Talang District. Clearing up the forest at the beginning for tea plantation could worsen the physical and chemical conditions of the soil. One of which is soil aggregate stability that is very dynamic and can influence other soil physical properties. This study was aimed to determine soil Aggregate Stability Index (ASI) at tea plantations. Soil samples was taken at a depth of 0-20 cm from five different slopes (0-8% (A), 8-15% (B), 15-25% (C), 25-45% (D), and> 45% (E)) and at two crop ages (10 and 35 years old). The results showed that the soil aggregate stability index at tea plantations ranged from stable to very stable. It tended to decrease by increasing slope percentage at each of crop age, Between the ages, it showed higher ASI at 35 years old crop age under relatively flat (0-8%) and very steep (>45%) areas.

scholarly journals Bacteria are more sensitive to nitrogen fertilizer application in tea plantation soil while fungi are more correlated to tea yield and quality

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheng Tang ◽  
Jingjie Zhou ◽  
Wankun Pan ◽  
Rui Tang ◽  
Qingxu Ma ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fungal Diversity ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Partial Least Square ◽  
Fungal Communities ◽  
Soil Microbiome ◽  
Tea Plantation ◽  
Yield And Quality ◽  
Application Rates ◽  
Tea Plantations ◽  
Fertiliser Application

Abstract Aims Soil in tea plantations is characterised by severe acidification and high aluminium and fluorine content. Applying excessive nitrogen (N) is a common strategy in tea plantations. Fungal and bacterial responses to N fertiliser addition in tea plantations, especially their relationship with tea growth, quality, and soil microbiome composition, remain unclear. Methods We performed a field experiment using different N fertiliser application rates for 5 years (2016‒2020) in a tea-producing region of China. Results Application of excessive N (600 kg ha− 1 y− 1) reduced tea yield and quality. High N application rates (360 and 600 kg ha− 1 y− 1) significantly decreased bacterial and fungal diversity and altered the compositions of bacterial and fungal communities (P < 0.05). Fungi were more tolerant than bacteria to soil environmental changes induced by N fertiliser application. Succession of bacterial and fungal communities was mostly driven by pH. Partial least square path modelling suggested that N addition directly influenced the diversity and communities of bacteria and fungi, and indirectly influenced bacterial community and fungal diversity by mediating soil nutrients and pH. The assembly of fungal communities was more regulated by dispersal limitation and deterministic processes than that of bacterial communities. High microbial diversity was not a requirement for tea growth. Conclusions Fungi had a greater impact on tea yield and quality than bacteria; therefore, more attention should be given to fungi, which play a stable role in nutrient cycling and organic matter decomposition in tea plantation, eventually favouring tea growth.

Locating 'Coolie' Women's Health in Tea Plantation Environments in Colonial Assam

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 211-228
Author(s):  
Namrata Borkotoky
Keyword(s):  
Environmental History ◽  
Tea Plantation ◽  
Female Workers ◽  
Manual Labour ◽  
Tea Plantations ◽  
History Of ◽  
Added Benefit ◽  
Assam Tea ◽  
Biological Reproduction ◽  
Female Presence

The history of Assam tea plantations in India is well-documented, yet a gender sensitive environmental history of these colonially-introduced plantation landscapes is absent. The colonial tea planters saw advantages in a growing female presence in their plantations, in terms of increased male ties to the plantation, lower wages for female workers and the added benefit of biological reproduction that would fulfil the need for manual labour in these plantations for generations. This paper attempts to understand how this plantation structure in general and the work regime in particular relied on a particular type of gender identity, which in turn had a detrimental effect on the health of the women labourers in this new landscape.

Occupational Conditions in Brazilian Modern Rural Slave Labour

Safety ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 28
Author(s):  
Gairo Garreto ◽  
J. Santos Baptista ◽  
Antônia Mota
Keyword(s):  
Working Conditions ◽  
Occupational Safety ◽  
Working Hours ◽  
Occupational Safety And Health ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Rural Workers ◽  
Modern Slavery ◽  
Safety And Health ◽  
Analysis Strategy ◽  
Work Routine

Work in rural properties in conditions similar to slavery remains a reality in many countries, including Brazil. The Brazilian State characterises contemporary slave labour as a condition of freedom restriction for paying off debt, served by intensive working hours or inadequate working conditions related to Occupational Safety and Health. This study highlights the working conditions in rural slavery in Brazil, based on the Occupational Safety and Health perspective. The study was carried out based on a sample of Inspection Reports of the Governmental Authority to Combat Modern Slavery. A random sample of 42 reports was collected and analysed, describing the working conditions of 392 rural workers characterised as labour analogous to slavery. The analysis strategy was carried out from an Occupational Safety and Health standpoint. Data sets were identified and selected, grouped into five categories: Work routine; General health conditions; Manual machines and tools; Environmental conditions. Widespread exposure of Neo-enslaved workers to stressful working hours was found, in addition to severe Occupational Safety and Health problems. The occurrence of all these characteristics simultaneously was the most observed phenomenon among the sample, which demonstrates that it is possible to identify cases of modern slavery from an Occupational Safety and Health perspective.

scholarly journals Exploring the Potential of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Remote Sensing for Mapping Plucking Area of Tea Plantations

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 1214
Author(s):  
Qingfan Zhang ◽  
Bo Wan ◽  
Zhenxiu Cao ◽  
Quanfa Zhang ◽  
Dezhi Wang
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Survey Methods ◽  
Remotely Sensed ◽  
Lidar Data ◽  
Remotely Sensed Data ◽  
Tea Plantation ◽  
Aerial Photogrammetry ◽  
Tea Plantations ◽  
Tea Garden ◽  
Optical Imagery

Mapping plucking areas of tea plantations is essential for tea plantation management and production estimation. However, on-ground survey methods are time-consuming and labor-intensive, and satellite-based remotely sensed data are not fine enough for plucking area mapping that is 0.5–1.5 m in width. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) remote sensing can provide an alternative. This paper explores the potential of using UAV-derived remotely sensed data for identifying plucking areas of tea plantations. In particular, four classification models were built based on different UAV data (optical imagery, digital aerial photogrammetry, and lidar data). The results indicated that the integration of optical imagery and lidar data produced the highest overall accuracy using the random forest algorithm (94.39%), while the digital aerial photogrammetry data could be an alternative to lidar point clouds with only a ~3% accuracy loss. The plucking area of tea plantations in the Huashan Tea Garden was accurately measured for the first time with a total area of 6.41 ha, which accounts for 57.47% of the tea garden land. The most important features required for tea plantation mapping were the canopy height, variances of heights, blue band, and red band. Furthermore, a cost–benefit analysis was conducted. The novelty of this study is that it is the first specific exploration of UAV remote sensing in mapping plucking areas of tea plantations, demonstrating it to be an accurate and cost-effective method, and hence represents an advance in remote sensing of tea plantations.

scholarly journals Agricultural Management Practices Influence the Soil Enzyme Activity and Bacterial Community Structure in Tea Plantations

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu-Pei Chen ◽  
Chai-Fang Tsai ◽  
PD Rekha ◽  
Sudeep Ghate ◽  
Hsi-Yuan Huang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bacterial Community ◽  
Enzymatic Activity ◽  
Soil Properties ◽  
Soil Quality ◽  
Soil Ph ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Agricultural Management ◽  
Bacterial Composition ◽  
Tea Plantation ◽  
Tea Plantations

Abstract Background The soil quality and health of the tea plantations are dependent on the agriculture management practices, and long-term chemical fertilizer use is implicated in soil decline. Hence, several sustainable practices are used to improve and maintain the soil quality. Here, in this study, changes in soil properties, enzymatic activity, and dysbiosis in bacterial community composition were compared using three agricultural management practices, namely conventional (CA), sustainable (SA) and transformational agriculture (TA) in the tea plantation during 2016 and 2017 period. Soil samples at two-months intervals were collected and analyzed. Results The results of the enzyme activities revealed that acid phosphatase, arylsulfatase, β-glucosidase, and urease activities differed considerably among the soils representing the three management practices. Combining the redundancy and multiple regression analysis, the change in the arylsulfatase activity was explained by soil pH as a significant predictor in the SA soils. The soil bacterial community was predominated by the phyla Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, Chloroflexi, and Bacteroidetes in the soil throughout the sampling period. Higher Alpha diversity scores indicated increased bacterial abundance and diversity in the SA soils. A significant relationship between bacterial richness indices (SOBS, Chao and ACE) and soil pH, K and P was observed in the SA soils. The diversity indices namely Shannon and Simpson also showed variations, suggesting the shift in the diversity of less abundant and more common species. Furthermore, the agricultural management practices, soil pH fluctuation and the extractable elements had a greater influence on bacterial structure than that of temporal change. Conclusions Based on the cross-over analysis of bacterial composition, enzymatic activity and the soil properties, the relationship between bacterial composition and biologically-driven ecological processes can identified as indicators of sustainability for the tea plantation.

scholarly journals The Development and Demise of Child Labour in a Javanese Tea Plantation, 1900–2010

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 325
Author(s):  
Pujo Semedi ◽  
Gerben Nooteboom
Keyword(s):  
Working Conditions ◽  
Child Labour ◽  
Educational Opportunities ◽  
Common Phenomenon ◽  
Technological Changes ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Tea Plantation ◽  
Improve Working ◽  
Historical Processes ◽  
Tea Plantations

Child labour used to be a common phenomenon in colonial tea plantations at the start of the 20th century. Since the 1970s, however, child labour started slowly to disappear from tea plantations on Java. In this article, we argue that the abolishment of child labour was never the result of improved legislation, but should be understood as part of several interrelated historical processes. Emerging educational opportunities for boys and girls, changes in labour demand, household strategies, diversification of family incomes, ideas on childhood, and technological changes in the production process are key to explain this change. This observation might raise serious considerations for policy makers today who aim to abolish child labour or improve working conditions of children.

scholarly journals Estimation of Evapotranspiration and Crop Coefficient of Rain-Fed Tea Plants under a Subtropical Climate

Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 2332
Author(s):  
Shenghong Zheng ◽  
Kang Ni ◽  
Lingfei Ji ◽  
Chenguang Zhao ◽  
Hongling Chai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plant Growth ◽  
Crop Coefficient ◽  
Experimental Period ◽  
Irrigation Scheduling ◽  
Subtropical Climate ◽  
Strong Basis ◽  
Tea Plantation ◽  
Demand Prediction ◽  
Tea Plantations ◽  
A Minor

Crop coefficient (Kc) is one of the most significant parameters for crop water demand prediction and irrigation scheduling. However, there is a lack of knowledge about water vapor and Kc in tea plantation ecosystems. This study explored and determined the actual evapotranspiration (ETc) and Kc of two cultivars of tea (Camellia sinensis), clone variety Baiye1 (BY1) and Longjing43 (LJ43), based on lysimeter data. An estimation was made for both for ETc and adjusted ETc, and the corresponding Kc and adjusted Kc. The results showed that the adjusted ETc and Kc values revealed a minor fluctuation when compared to the ETc and Kc values during the experimental period, which indicated that the adjusted ETc and Kc values were more precise and practical to field conditions. The average adjusted Kc values were 0.71 (range of 0.43–1.02) for BY1 and 0.84 (range of 0.48–1.22) for LJ43. Additionally, heavy pruning can decrease ETc and Kc values, possibly due to the lower level of LAI after pruning. Moreover, it is clearly manifested that BY1 consistently had lower ETc and Kc values than those of LJ43 because of plant growth status differences between BY1 and LJ43. Overall, our study proposed a reliable reference of Kc in tea plantation, and illuminated the effects of pruning and plant growth differences on Kc, which could provide a strong basis for precise irrigation in tea plantations in a subtropical climate.

scholarly journals Arthropod Diversity in the Tea Plantation within Several Years after Pruning in Pagilaran, Central Java

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 299
Author(s):  
Muhammad Rizyan Anggra Hidayat ◽  
F. X. Wagiman ◽  
Arman Wijonarko
Keyword(s):  
Pitfall Trap ◽  
Simpson Index ◽  
Tea Plantation ◽  
Arthropod Diversity ◽  
Central Java ◽  
Evenness Index ◽  
Tea Plantations ◽  
Plot Area ◽  
Abundance And Diversity ◽  
Arthropod Abundance

The lush leaves of tea within several years after prune is expected to be followed by arthropod abundance and diversity. The study aimed to evaluate the arthropod abundance, diversity, evenness, and dominance, at the tea plantation within several years after the prune. The study was conducted at Pagilaran tea plantations, Central Java, from April to May 2018, at an altitude of 900 m asl. Arthropod samplings were done in four plots of tea plantation namely 1, 2, 3, and 4 years after pruning, hereafter they are called PY1, PY2, PY3, and PY4.  The plot area was approximately 1 ha. The arthropod specimens were collected using sweep net and pitfall trap every day for 6 consecutive days.  The arthropod identification and calculation were carried out in the Laboratory of Entomology, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Gadjah Mada. Analysis of variance was applied to determine the effect of PY on the Arthropod abundance. The Shannon Wienner index, the Evenness index, and the Simpson index, were used to evaluate the arthropod diversity, evenness, and dominance, respectively. The results showed that the PY significantly affected the arthropod abundance. The arthropod number collected from PY1 (27 individuals/50 swings) was significantly lower as compared to the other PYs, while arthropod numbers amongst PY2, PY3, and PY4 (53, 93, and 67 individuals/50 swings, respectively) were relatively similar. Out of the total number of 1.432 arthropod specimens, it comprised of 10 orders at which Hemiptera was the highest order (48.04%), and 69 families at which Cicadellidae was the highest family (32.12%). Amongst specimens of Cicadellidae, there was Empoasca sp. which is an important tea pest. The Shannon Wienner index (H) of orders and families ranged from 1.24 to 2.69 indicates moderate arthropod diversity. The Evenness index (e') ranged from 0.57 to 0.91) indicates the arthropod evenly distributed. Meanwhile, the Simpson index (D) ranged 0.10 - 0.39 indicates that there was no dominance of the order or family.

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