A collaborative team of researchers led by Nagaland University, along with scientists from leading research institutions across India, has uncovered how seasonal climate variations significantly influence soil microbial communities and enzyme activities in Assam’s tea plantations, offering valuable insights for climate-resilient and sustainable tea cultivation.
The study, conducted across five representative tea estates in Jorhat between 2016 and 2019, highlights the close relationship between climate variability, soil health and microbial activity—an increasingly important area of research as changing weather patterns continue to affect tea productivity and quality.
Published in the international journal Environments, the research is among the first comprehensive multi-year assessments of seasonal microbial dynamics in tea plantations in Northeast India. It integrates microbiological, biochemical and climatic data with advanced statistical techniques, including probability distribution fitting, correlation analysis, hierarchical cluster analysis and principal component analysis (PCA), to understand how soil biology responds to changing climatic conditions.
The researchers found that climatic conditions strongly influence beneficial soil microorganisms and enzyme activities that are essential for maintaining soil fertility and nutrient cycling. More than 80 per cent of the variation in the biological data was explained by the first three principal components, underscoring the robustness of the findings.
The study also demonstrated that hierarchical cluster analysis could effectively classify tea estates based on their microbial and enzymatic characteristics, establishing soil microbial communities and enzyme activities as reliable biological indicators of environmental change and sustainable tea production.
Congratulating the research team, Prof Jagadish Kumar Patnaik, Vice-Chancellor of Nagaland University, said the findings would play a vital role in promoting sustainable agriculture in the region.
Download Nagaland Tribune app on Google Play
“The study provides valuable insights into how climate variability influences soil microbial communities and biological health in Assam’s tea plantations. Such research is vital for developing sustainable and climate-resilient tea cultivation practices in North-East India. This study also reinforces Nagaland University’s commitment to advancing research that addresses regional environmental challenges and supports sustainable agricultural development,” he said.
The findings are expected to help tea growers improve soil health monitoring through biological indicators, optimise nutrient management practices and develop climate-resilient cultivation strategies. The research also provides scientific evidence that can support policymakers and agricultural extension agencies working to strengthen the long-term sustainability of India’s tea industry.
Explaining the significance of the study, Prof Tanmoy Karak, Department of Soil Science, School of Agricultural Sciences, Nagaland University and co-author of the study, said the research sought to identify seasonal conditions that favour beneficial microbial communities while examining how climatic variables regulate soil biological processes.
Bobita Payeng, Department of Soil Science, School of Agricultural Sciences
“We attempted to determine seasonal thresholds that favour beneficial microbial communities and also understand how climatic variables regulate soil biological processes. The study establishes soil microbial communities and enzyme activities as sensitive indicators of environmental change and sustainable tea production,” he said.
According to the researchers, the study will help scientists better understand seasonal changes in soil bacterial and fungal populations, develop strategies for climate-resilient tea production and provide scientific evidence to support sustainable tea cultivation under changing climatic conditions.
The research team included Dr Bobita Payeng, Research Scholar, Upper Assam Advisory Centre, Tea Research Association; Dr Ranjit Kumar Paul, ICAR National Fellow, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute (IASRI), New Delhi; Dr Md. Yeasin, Scientist, ICAR-IASRI, New Delhi; Dr Animesh Sarkar, Associate Professor, Department of Horticulture, School of Agricultural Sciences, Nagaland University; Dr CS Maiti, Professor, Department of Horticulture, School of Agricultural Sciences, Nagaland University; Dr Saumik Panja, Scientist, University of California, San Francisco, USA; Dr Manoj Dutta, Professor, Department of Soil and Water Conservation, School of Agricultural Sciences, Nagaland University; Dr Rusha Pal, Scientist, University of Kansas Medical Center, USA; Dr Diganta Deka, Senior Scientist, Terai Advisory Centre, Tocklai Tea Research Institute, Tea Research Association, West Bengal; Dr Harisadhan Malakar, Senior Scientist, Tocklai Tea Research Institute, Jorhat, Assam; Dr Jintu Dutta, Scientist, Tocklai Tea Research Institute, Jorhat, Assam; Dr Jiban Saikia, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, Dibrugarh University; Dr Sagarika Das, Scientist-C, Diphu Medical College & Hospital; and Dr Tanmoy Karak, Professor, Department of Soil Science, School of Agricultural Sciences, Nagaland University.
