On July 1, our city experienced heavy rainfall, with 24-hour accumulated precipitation exceeding 100 millimeters at 23 monitoring stations, the highest being 172.9 millimeters at Changling station. The intense short-term rainfall led to landslides, collapsed embankments, mud accumulation, and waterlogging in some Tea gardens, causing varying degrees of Flood damage and related secondary disasters. To minimize losses from tea production due to disasters, Tongcheng Kangzhiyuan Family Farm promptly launched science popularization activities for disaster mitigation in tea gardens.
Tea farmers can take the following remedial measures:
1. Drainage and Clearing of Silt and Waterlogging
For tea gardens with standing Water, drainage ditches should be promptly cleared and dredged, and deep trenches opened to drain the water as soon as possible, avoiding waterlogging that could harm the tea trees due to prolonged water accumulation. At the same time, mud, sand, stones, and other debris that have washed into the Tea Garden, as well as mud on the branches and leaves of tea plants, should be cleared away promptly. Efforts should be made to reduce soil moisture and environmental Humidity as soon as possible to prevent root rot or decay caused by prolonged soaking of tea trees.
2. Restoration of Tea Gardens
After the disaster, fallen trees should be propped up as soon as possible, and exposed roots should be covered with soil. Branches dragging on the ground and broken branches covered in mud should be pruned promptly. Infrastructure such as roads and retaining walls in the tea garden should be restored as soon as possible to ensure the smooth passage of vehicles and people.
3. Manual Weeding, Shallow Tilling, and Soil Fertilization
Soil in flooded tea gardens tends to become compacted, leading to oxygen deprivation in the root system. When the surface soil is basically dry, shallow tilling and weeding should be carried out in a timely manner during tea garden management to restore soil permeability, stimulate new root growth, and promote recovery. To encourage the growth of new roots and restore tree vigor, fertilization management should be strengthened in damaged tea gardens. Fertilizer should be applied in trenches about 15 centimeters deep, and the soil should be covered after fertilization. Composted organic fertilizer and compound fertilizer can be used, with specific amounts determined based on the actual conditions of the tea plants.
4. Green Pest Management in Tea Gardens
After tea gardens are affected by heavy rain, they become susceptible to infection by foreign pathogens. Disaster relief disinfection work should be carried out in tea gardens. During this period, which coincides with the peak season for tea plant pests and diseases, close attention should be paid to the occurrence of pests and diseases in tea gardens, and early warning systems for pest and disease forecasting should be strengthened. Particular emphasis should be placed on the use of green pest management technologies. Special attention should be given to forecasting and early warning for major pests such as tea green leafhoppers, tea geometrid moths, gray tea geometrid moths, and tea red spider mites to prevent localized outbreaks. (Author: Cui Gaosheng)