Comparative Analysis of Organic vs. Conventional Farming: Impacts on Soil Chemistry and Tea Leaf Biochemistry

Abstract

A comparative study was conducted at the experimental field of Tocklai Tea Research Institute, Jorhat, India to determine the effects of organic (OFS) and conventional farming (CFS) systems on soil chemical and biochemical properties of tea leaf. A part of the field under CFS was converted to organic in 2008 by using eleven different combinations of organic manures. After four years of conversion process, chemical properties of the soil samples such as soil-organic carbon, available N, available P, available K as well as caffeine and catechin contents of the leaf samples were quantified. OFS resulted in significantly increase in soil organic carbon (8.8%) and cation exchange capacity (28.4%). On the other hand, CFS resulted in significantly higher levels of available potash and nitrogen contents in soil. The estimates of leaf biochemical contents resulted in up to 43% increase in leaf proline and 27% increase in catechin contents in tea leaves under OFS, although there was upto 22 percent reduction in tea yield due to conversion from conventional to organic farming practices. The present study provides information on soil nitrogen and potash level as well as leaf proline and catechin content in tea leaves under OFS and CFS in North east India.