Investigation on Underlying Causes for Sudden Tea Bush Death and the Feasibility of Applying Decanter Cake of Oil Palm (Elaeis Guineensis) as an Organic Fertilizer on Tea Fields at Watawala Plantations Plc
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Date
2016
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Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka
Abstract
A series of experiments was carried out at the Nakiyadeniya estate, Galle of the Watawala Plantations PLC. in 2021 to investigate the underline cause for tea bush death with addition of Decanter cake of Oil Palm to tea filed, the suitable decomposition level of DC to use as an organic fertilizer and the optimum rate of decomposed DC to be appled to soil. Three treatments such as, 2kg and 4 kg of DC decomposed over four weeks,and the control were tested with tea. Results showed that the plots applied with 4kg of DC decomposed over four weeks enhanced the total nitrogen, available phosphorus and total organic carbon content in soil. They were 1.76+ 0.05%, 321.51+ 12.39 (mg/kg) and 5.23+ 0.5% respectively. In the other experiment where DC was heaped for four, six and eight weeks to decompose showed that most effective period of decomposition is eight weeks recording 4.2% total nitrogen, 1640.58 (mg/kg) of available phosphorus and 51.04% of total organic carbon with the lowest electric conductivity 214.3(6/cm-2) and. Furthermore, tea bush death was occurred as a result of direct application of fresh DC without allowing to decompose,to the base of tea plant thereby a high electrical conductivity was occured. An overall analysis is showed decanter cake decomposed four 8 weeks is found to be more favourable to apply DC as an organic fertizer on tea fields.
Key words: Decanter cake, total nitrogen content, organic carbon , available phosphorous , electric conductivity, Tea bush death.
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Tea Technology and Value Addition Degree Programme ( TEA)