TTRI innovates with Reduviid Bugs to curb Pest infestations in Assam Tea Gardens

Nov 30, 2024

Jorhat (Assam), November 30 (ANI): The Tocklai Tea Research Institute (TTRI) has initiated a biological approach to manage pest infestations in tea gardens by breeding and deploying Reduviid Bugs, a native carnivorous insect of Assam. Azariah Babu, Director, Tocklai Tea Research Institute said, “This work is primarily part of biological control management. Essentially, we are involved in the mass rearing of natural enemies, which are beneficial insects. These insects prey on harmful pests. We collect these insects from the ecosystem in Assam and have developed technology to rear them under laboratory conditions. This technology is aimed at analyzing and releasing these beneficial insects into several commercial tea gardens, and we are currently waiting to observe the results. Alongside this, we are planning to provide training to tea garden workers, particularly those who are educated, knowledgeable about gardening, and interested in such work. We will train them in the rearing of these insects. This will enable tea gardens to mass-rear the insects themselves and release them into their plantations. However, the only challenge we have encountered with Reduviid bugs is their inability to survive in pesticide-laden environments. In the second phase of our project, we are working on testing and developing pesticide-tolerant Reduviid bugs. We are hopeful that this advancement will help reduce the pesticide load in tea gardens...”