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Tea production characteristics of tea growers (plantations and smallholdings) and livelihood dimensions of tea workers in Assam, India.

ABSTRACT: This article provides summary data regarding tea production in Assam, India. Questionnaires were completed by tea producers and focus group discussions undertaken with tea workers. These data are presented for the four main tea growing regions of the state (Cachar, North Bank, South Bank and Upper Assam). Tables detail tea production characteristics of the tea plantations for both large- (> 10?ha) and small- (< 10?ha) holders. Figures provide supplementary information for research by Biggs et al. [1] regarding fertilizer application, landscape management strategies, healthcare provisioning and educational facilities within plantations, as well as detailing the livelihood dimensions of tea workers. The questions posed to producers are also included. For further context underpinning the research for which these data were collated, see 'The tea landscape of Assam: multi-stakeholder insights into sustainable livelihoods under a changing climate' by Biggs et al. [1].

SUBMITTER: Biggs EM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5854876 | biostudies-other | 2018 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Tea production characteristics of tea growers (plantations and smallholdings) and livelihood dimensions of tea workers in Assam, India.

Biggs Eloise M EM Gupta Niladri N Saikia Sukanya D SD Duncan John M A JMA

Data in brief 20180227

This article provides summary data regarding tea production in Assam, India. Questionnaires were completed by tea producers and focus group discussions undertaken with tea workers. These data are presented for the four main tea growing regions of the state (Cachar, North Bank, South Bank and Upper Assam). Tables detail tea production characteristics of the tea plantations for both large- (> 10 ha) and small- (< 10 ha) holders. Figures provide supplementary information for research by Biggs et al ...[more]

PMID: 29556521

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Project description:BackgroundRhizosphere soil is a crucial niche for the diverse beneficial microbial communities in plant-microbe interactions. This study explores the antagonistic potential and diversity of the rhizosphere soil bacteria from commercial tea estates of Assam, India which comes under the Indo-Burma mega-biodiversity hotspot. Rhizosphere soil samples were collected from six different tea estates to isolate the bacteria. The bacterial isolates were subjected to evaluate for the antagonistic activity against fungal pathogens. The potential isolates were investigated for chitinase production and the presence of chitinase gene. The bacterial genetic diversity was studied by Amplified Ribosomal DNA Restriction Analysis (ARDRA) and BOX-PCR fingerprinting.ResultsA total of 217 rhizobacteria were isolated from tea rhizosphere soil, out of which 50 isolates exhibited the potential antagonistic activity against fungal pathogens. Among them, 12 isolates showed extracellular chitinase activity and the presence of chitinase genes. The chitinase genes were sequenced and the analysis of the sequences was performed by using PDB protein databank at the amino acid level. It showed the presence of ChiA and ChiA74 gene in the 6 most potent isolates which are involved in the hydrolysis of chitin. These isolates also exhibited antagonistic activity against all tested fungal pathogens. The diversity of 50 antagonistic bacterial isolates were analyzed through ARDRA and BOX-PCR fingerprinting. Diversity analysis and molecular identification of the rhizosphere isolates revealed that these antagonistic isolates predominantly belonged to the genus Bacillus followed by Enterobacter, Serratia, Lysinibacillus, Pseudomonas, and Burkholderia.ConclusionThe present study establishes that rhizobacteria isolated from the poorly explored tea rhizosphere soil could be a rich reservoir for the investigation of potential antagonistic bacterial candidates for sustainable agricultural and industrial applications.

Project description:BackgroundThe soil quality and health of the tea plantations are dependent on 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.ResultsThe 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.ConclusionsBased on the cross-over analysis of the bacterial composition, enzymatic activity, and soil properties, the relationship between bacterial composition and biologically-driven ecological processes can be identified as indicators of sustainability for the tea plantation.

Project description:In the present study, 217 rhizobacterial isolates were obtained from six different tea estates of Assam, India and subjected to preliminary in vitro plant growth promotion (PGP) screening for indole acetic acid (IAA) production, phosphate solubilization, siderophore production and ammonia production. Fifty isolates showed all the PGP traits and five isolates did not exhibit any PGP traits. These 50 potential isolates were further analyzed for quantitative estimation of the PGP traits along with the aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) deaminase, protease and cellulose production. After several rounds of screening, four rhizobacteria were selected based on their maximum ability to produce in vitro PGP traits and their partial 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis revealed that they belong to Enterobacter lignolyticus strain TG1, Burkholderia sp. stain TT6, Bacillus pseudomycoides strain SN29 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain KH45. To evaluate the efficacy of these four rhizobacteria as plant growth promoters, three different commercially important tea clones TV1, TV19, and TV20 plants were inoculated with these rhizobacteria in greenhouse condition and compared to the uninoculated control plants. Though, all the rhizobacterial treatments showed an increase in plant growth compared to control but the multivariate PCA analysis confirmed more growth promotion by TG1 and SN29 strains than the other treatments in all three clones. To validate this result, the fold change analysis was performed and it revealed that the tea clone TV19 plants inoculated with the E. lignolyticus strain TG1 showed maximum root biomass production with an increase in 4.3-fold, shoot biomass with increase in 3.1-fold, root length by 2.2-fold and shoot length by 1.6-fold. Moreover, two way ANOVA analysis also revealed that rhizobacterial treatment in different tea clones showed the significant increase (P < 0.05) in growth promotion compared to the control. Thus, this study indicates that the potential of these indigenous plant growth promoting rhizobacteria isolates to use as microbial inoculation or biofertilizer for growth promotion of tea crops.

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Tea production characteristics of tea growers (plantations and smallholdings) and livelihood dimensions of tea workers in Assam, India.

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Tea production characteristics of tea growers (plantations and smallholdings) and livelihood dimensions of tea workers in Assam, India.

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