ຊາປ່າ / Wild Tea

Diseases, pests and Control technique 

Insect pests can seriously decrease tea productivity by weakening the tea plant or directly damaging shoots. The most serious pests on tea in Asia are as follows (Chen et al., 2012; Muraleedharan, 1992) :
– Sucking pests which suck the sap from buds, young leaves and tender stems and cause deformation and bad growth of leaves due to intensive feeding. These include tea leafhopper (Empoasca vitis), tea black spiny whitefly (Aleurocanthus spiniferus), tea mirid (Helopeltis schoutedeni) and tea aphid (Toxoptera aurantii). 
– Defoliating chewing pests can cause serious damage to the shoots and leaves. These include tea looper (Ectropis oblique), tea tussock (Euproctis pseudoconspersa), tea small leafroller (Adoxophyes honmai), tea leafroller (Homona magnanima) and tea tortrix (Homona coffearia).
– Tea mites cause damage to the green tissues of foliage and thereby reduce the area of photosynthetic surface, resulting in lower yields. These include tea pink mite (Acaphylla theae), tea scarlet mite (Brevipalpus obovatus), tea kanzawai mite (Tetranychus kanzawai), tea red spider mite (Oligonychus coffea) and scarlet mite (Brevipalpus phoenicis).
– Stem-boring pests include tea shot-hole borer (Xyleborus fornicatus).
Another serious tea disease in hot and humid environments is blister blight (Exobasidium vexans), which affects the leaves on young branches. Other common pathogens of tea in Asia are tea anthracnose disease (Gloeosporium theae-sinensis) and brown blight (Guignardia camelliae). A major disease affecting the roots of tea plants is root knot (Meloidogyne incognita, Meloidogyne javanica). Other root diseases are red root rot (Poria hypolaterita, Ganoderma sp.) and brown root rot (Phellinus lamaensis) (Chen et al., 2012) . The reduction in yield caused by these pests and diseases generally ranges from 10% to 20% (Chen et al., 2012 ). Early intervention and prevention of pest and diseases is important in tea production because pesticide residue on tea leaves can result in lower quality tea or tea that is not suitable for consumption.