The Tea Research Association has maintained that the reported loss of tea crop this year cannot be attributed to the infestation by Helopeltis (commonly referred to as the tea mosquito bug) alone. Unfavourable weather conditions have played a part, too, in the production loss, said TRA director Dr Mridul Hazarika at a press conference held at the Cinnamara-based Tocklai Experimental Station here on Wednesday. Heavy rainfall, which has been hampering spraying activities, has also created congenial conditions for the multiplication of the tea mosquito bug, he pointed out. The TRA director stressed that it would not be possible without a proper study to quantify the exact loss due to Helopeltis attacks in tea plantations. Dr Hazarika claimed that the integrated pest management package developed at TES after painstaking research and development has been useful in controlling Helopeltis in several tea-growing areas. The package includes chemical pesticides, plant products, biological agents and cultural practices for a multi-pronged intervention as pest dynamics is very complex, he said. "We have held seminars, organised field demonstrations and released bulletins to create awareness about tea pests and diseases like black spot, red rust and blister blight and the work done at TRA to control them,' Dr Hazarika added. Helopeltis is a sucking pest which damages plant tissues and retards shoot growth. The TRA director categorically stated that the tea mosquito bug is not a recent menace as reported in a section of the media. It had infested tea gardens in Cachar way back in 1865. The pest has attacked tea bushes in upper Asom since the late 1970s. As there is a conscious effort to cut down on the use of chemical pesticides by 30 per cent to conform with the norms of maximum residue limit by 2010, TRA can recommend the use of only those chemicals which have been approved by Central Insecticide Board, the TRA director said. The tea industry has been briefed on the best possible ways to control pests, protect the natural enemies of pests and conserve the environment in terms of economic and ecological realities, he added. Dr Hazarika revealed that Helopeltis infestation has been reported in 30 per cent of the area each in the 172 TRA-affiliated gardens located in upper Assam this year. Tea planter Raj Barooah, a member of the council of management of TRA, said that the Helopeltis problem became a headache for the local tea industry after the attacks in 1997 and 2001. He pointed out that the tea yield this year has been on decline by 10 to 15 per cent compared to that in 2007. Though the control of pests depends on individual tea gardens, the sharp rise in the prices of chemicals (registering a hike of up to 40 per cent) has become a cause of concern, Barooah, a former chairman of Assam Tea Planters' Association, stressed.