Assessing the Effects of Gas Flaring on the Growth Physiology of Tea Crop

Abstract

Assam is known worldwide for its production of tea; the state contributes around 52 percent to the India’s tea production.Similar to tea, crude oil operations date back to the 19th century and accounts for about 15 percent of India’s crude output, thus making these sectors important economically. However apart from the positive effects, crude oil operations result in gas flaring, which is already recognized as an environmental problem. Taking into context the harmful effects of gas flaring the present investigation aims to study the impact of gas flaring on physiological parameters of tea plant with respect to growth adjacent to oil field in Merbil Majuli OCS 6(WEST) in Dibrugarh district of Assam during 2019-2020. The study was designed with Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) accommodating five levels under distance and two levels under seasons. Plant samples were collected at random intervals and estimated for plant physiological parameters such as water saturation deficit(WSD),relative turgidity, stomatal count, polyphenol content, specific leaf weight, caffeine content, chlorophyll content, plucking point density. The present study found that gas flaring had a significant effect on the physiology of the tea crop in terms of growth. The study found a gradual decrease in relative turgidity, specific leaf weight, plucking point density, stomatal count, leaf area measurement, polyphenol content, chlorophyll content, caffeine content, but an increase in water saturation deficit of green tea leaves on plants growing closer to the flare pit.