History of Tea in South India

Tea is an ever green perennial crop and the most preferred beverage in the world next to the water, “The Adams Wine”. As a beverage, it needs no introduction as it has been recognized long ago. The word “Tea“ comes from Amoy lanuage T’e while “Cha” is derived from Cantonese. The oldest record of tea starts with Chinese Empereor Shen Nung a scholar and herbalist who lived around 2737BC during the time of Tang dynasty in China. However, it spread over to other parts of the world only during the 17th century. Tea is believed to have originated from south east Asia and is indigenous to a vast fan shaped area bordering north west Assam, in thenorth east by China coast and in the south by southern Cambodia and Vietnam. From its original home in south east Asia, tea spread to different parts of the world and now it has been cultivated commercially in more than 80 countries locate4d all over the continents. A brief note of certain tea growing nations is given hereunder.

Tea, native to Southeast Asia, is believed to have originated from an extensive fan-shaped region encompassing Assam in the northwest, China in the northeast, and southern Cambodia and Vietnam. From its original habitat, tea spread across the globe, with commercial cultivation now spanning over 80 countries. In India, the first known attempt to grow tea in the Nilgiris dates back to 1832, though it was largely unsuccessful. Another effort followed in 1834, using seeds from China, with some degree of success. Kerala saw its first commercial tea planting in Peermade in 1875. A significant milestone occurred in 1878 when James Finlay & Co. developed the Kanan Devan Hills as an exclusive tea plantation area. By 1889, large-scale tea planting had commenced in Wayanad, and by 1897, commercial tea cultivation had also taken root in the Anamallais. Karnataka joined the tea-growing landscape relatively later.

As tea plantations proliferated across the Western Ghats, growers faced increasing challenges from pests and diseases, particularly blight. Recognizing the need for scientific intervention, discussions began on improving plant management, not just in tea but also in coffee and rubber. Responding to persistent appeals from planters’ associations, provincial governments began providing financial and scientific assistance. The first significant step was taken in 1909 when Mr. Rudolph Anstead, a scientific officer under the Madras Presidency’s Agriculture Department, was appointed as the first Planting Expert to serve plantation districts. He remained a vital support for planters over the next few decades.

The widespread occurrence of the leaf rust (Hemilia vastatrix Berk & Br.) of coffee and the consequent decline of the coffee industry was a major factor responsible for the extensive planting of tea in south India. The tea growing tracks of south India, extending along the Western Ghats, vary in their elevation from 300 to 2,300 m above MSL and experience an annual rainfall ranging from 90-750 cm. These plantations, with their adjoining forest ecosystem contribute greatly to the maintenance of terrestrial ecology by providing extensive land cover and minimizing soil erosion.

Tea belongs to the family Camelliaceae and all the cultivated tea plants belong to two distinct species, viz., Camellia sinensis (L). O. Kuntze, the short leaved ‘China’ plants and Camellia assamica (Masters) Wight, the broad leaved ‘Assam’ plants. The ‘Cambod’ variety, a subspecies of the latter, is named C. assamica lasiocalyx (Planchon exWatt) Wight. The ‘China’, ‘Assam’ and ‘Cambod’ and a large number of their hybrids are seen in many tea fields. It is believed that many wild species of teas have also contributed to the present day hybrid population of cultivated tea plants.

Tea prefers a warm humid climate, well distributed rainfall and long sunshine days. A soil pH below 6.0 is essential for establishing tea successfully and moderately good tea can be grown on soils with pH values between 4.5 and 5.5. Under natural conditions, this plant grows to a small tree but brought into a bush form by pruning at regular intervals for the convenience of plucking and for harvesting optimum vegetative growth.