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Silchar, June 19: A team of scientists and researchers from Assam University, Silchar, have discovered a new disease which is affecting tea leaves and posing a serious challenge to the production yield of the tea industry in the region.
Prof Piyush Pandey, director of the Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) of the varsity and a professor at the Department of Microbiology of the university who led the research for over two years' time, informed The Assam Tribune that the newly identified disease, leaf necrosis, is caused by the fungus Lasiodiplodia theobromae.
"This marks the first report of Lasiodiplodia theobromae-induced leaf necrosis in India, with a prior occurrence documented only in China," Prof Pandey claimed.
He added to inform that the newly found disease rots the tea leaves and poses a significant threat to Assam's tea plantations, which were previously battling fungal diseases primarily attributed to Corticium induced black rot. "From our findings we could decipher that the symptoms of leaf necrosis caused by Lasiodiplodia theobromae are strikingly similar to those of Corticium infections, making diagnosis and treatment more challenging," the scientist added.
Kheyali Ghosh, Sandeep Das, Nandita Das, Silpi Sorongpong are the other researchers in the team. The research was financially supported by the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India.
On the other hand, while Prof Pandey informed that they had collected samples from tea gardens across Barak and Brahmaputra valleys (mainly from Dibrugarh district) industry stakeholders have reacted to the issue.
IB Ubhadia, general manager of Rosekandy Tea Estate in Cachar, said that this is vital research work that will help improve the control mechanism to save the leaves from the fungal infection.
Prof Rajive Mohan Pant, the vice chancellor of the university, lauded the efforts of Prof. Pandey and his team for their significant contribution, reiterating the university's commitment to supporting the regional tea industry through dedicated research and innovation.
