Spraying Pesticides on Tea Plants, Dibrugarh, Assam
This photo shows a young man wearing a tank on his back, spraying pesticides on tea plants in the Dibrugarh district of Assam, India.
Pesticides are not necessary to produce tea, and a lot of tea is produced without any pesticides whatsoever. Producers use pesticide to increase yield and to compensate for unsustainable practices like the use of clonal plants that do not adapt to insect pests, and the lack of wild areas surrounding tea plantations, which would naturally serve as host to insectivorous birds and other animals that eat pests.
