by Farmers Double Down on Pesticides While Pests Develop PhDs in Chemical Resistance
Assam/Sylhet Facing an invasion of looper caterpillars, thrips, and red spider mites that seem to be enjoying the warmest growing season of their evolutionary lives, Indian tea plantation managers have declared war using the most effective weapon available: even more pesticides.
“Climate change has created the perfect environment for pests,” explained Mohammad Shameem Al Mamun, principal scientific officer at Bangladesh’s Tea Research Institute, gesturing at alarming production charts like a general showing battle maps. The solution? Rotate six to eight pesticide types and hope insects don’t unionize.
The problem is that pests have developed “various defense mechanisms,” which is bureaucratic speak for “insects have essentially earned advanced degrees in chemical resistance.”
Indian tea production has dropped from 1.4 billion kg in 2023 to 1.3 billion kg in 2024, while Tamil Nadu’s yields collapsed from 30 million kg to 16.7 million kg between 2009 and 2022. The Bangladesh Tea Association reports nighttime temperatures rising from 16°C to 20.7°C, creating pest breeding conditions that would make climate scientists weep.
Yet the response remains unchanged: spray more chemicals. It’s evolution in real-time, except humanity keeps losing.
Learn more about agricultural adaptation failure at Bohiney Magazine’s climate agriculture coverage.
SOURCE: https://bohiney.com
SOURCE: Bohiney.com ()
