He said, "the onset of liberlisation and globalisation of the Indian tea industry is on a threshold of global competition. The global competition is also affecting the local competition. Hence the need for retaining and improving the competitive advantage has become critical for its long-term growth."

With the liberalisation and globalisation the tea industry has entered a new stage of global competition. Therefore a new understanding of market and marketing techniques has become imperative. "Gone are the days of disposal of tea. The new catchwords are marketing and value-addition of tea," he added.

In view of thenew scenario, managerial research as academic support to the industry has gained upperhand. Presenting his paper on Tea Research in South India, director, UPASI Tea Institute, N Muralidharan, said that technologically the major areas of tea research are plant improvement, nutrient management, pest and disease management, tea quality and biotechnology. Under the plant improvement programme of the institute, so far 28 clones and five bi-clonal seed stocks were developed and distributed among the growers.

Most of these are high yielding clones while a few could produce tea of high quality. Besides this, care is also taken for the rationalisation of nutrients for different agro-climatic zones and optimisation of manganese and zinc levels among others.

The institute is also encouraging the use of bio-fertilisers among the tea planters. A prelimenary study has revealed that application of a variety of bacteria can enhance the organic nature of the soil without affecting the yield.

He also lamented that verylittle research has gone into the quality aspects of South Indian tea. A comparitive of teas from different districts of South India and Assam shows that the levels of aromatics are high in Nilgiris tea compared to Assam tea.

Biochemical studies indicate that quality of South Indian teas is equal to taht of teas produced elsewhere in India. Nearly 50 per cent of the whole south Indian produce is ample proof of its quality, Muralidharan said.