Relationship between timing of fertilizer application and insect infestation

In organic tea production, it is necessary to prevent damage caused by insects.

This not only reduces the yield and damages the tea leaves, but also leads to

disease outbreaks.

The question is how to manage the tea plantation without relying on pesticides.

Through trial and error, we have developed our own methods of cultivation.
As an example of our creative approach, we have adopted a method of cultivation

in which insects are naturally kept away from the fields through proper management

of the soil environment.

The natural environment and ecosystems are cyclical and sustainable for a reason.

The reason insects eat tea leaves is so that they can grow themselves.

Therefore, we conducted a series of tests to see how the insects behaved when the

amino acid levels in the tea leaves were intentionally kept low. 

 

As expected, when we deliberately suppressed the amino acid

content of the tea plants, we found that most of the insects that
would have flocked to the tea plants during the season were not attracted to them.

If the insect feels, "There's no point in eating this leaf because it's not going to allow me to grow, 

and it feels that, then it will naturally go elsewhere.  We think this is the result of our speculation. Insects that cause feeding damage naturally disappear from the field at the end of the outbreak season. The soil environment is managed so that the amino acid content recovers just as the insect outbreak ends.

Depending on how fertilizer is applied, soil conditions can be deliberately altered so that the amino acid content of the tea leaves is at the correct level at harvest. The time it takes for the fertilizer to reach the roots varies with the season and soil type.

By combining scientific data with the sensitivity of farmers, we have been able to systematize the optimal timing. This is one of our strengths.

(If this method does not work, we will use another one, as it is not applicable to all insect prevention).