0,"Tea is one of the most important agricultural crops in East and Southern Africa, and is a source of income for countless smallholder farmers"
1," However, if unsustainable practices are allowed to continue, they will contaminate the environment, exhaust the water or soil, and exploit the workers"
2," Such way, tea production cannot be sustained in the long run"
3,Use of pesticide is not the only way to control pests and diseases
4," When tea bushes are maintained strong and healthy in Africa, they should be able to outgrow short-term pest infestations, without applying chemicals"
5, Spraying would kill the natural enemies of pests and could allow epidemics to develop
6," In this section, we learn about how to manage pests and diseases in a sustainable way"
7,"When you plant a new tea bush, choose clones that are resistant to pests and diseases, such as mites and Helopeltis"
8," It is better to plant several clones, instead of just one clone"
9," When planting several clones, plant them in blocks of pure stands for easier management"
10,"If the field had been previously infested by a root disease, such as Armillaria, the disease can still be hosted in the roots of remaining trees"
11," Therefore, they need to be eliminated through a method called “ring barking” which is removal of the back around the tree to kill the pathogen in the roots"
12,"Mulching and maintaining a good canopy prevent the light from reaching the ground, hence controlling the weed growth"
13, Weeding with a hoe could damage the roots of the tea bushes
14, It is better to pull out weeds by hand
15,Moles and rats that damage the roots of tea bushes
16," Their damage can be prevented by digging trenches, and by planting molerepellent plants, such as Tephrosia vogelli and Tagetes minuta (Mexican marigold), Onion and Garlic"
17, Avoid killing them
18,"If you see sunken lesions of woody tissue on stems and branches, these are signs of Phomopsis infestation"
19, Phomopsis is a fungal disease that enters through open wounds on stems and branches
20, The wounds could have been caused by a hoe during manual weeding or by moles and rats
21,"To control Helopeltis infestation, it is recommended to pluck all the young soft leaves and leave only the hard leaves in the field"
22, This method is called “Hard plucking”
23," By removing all the soft leaves that Helopeltis can feed on, their population can be controlled"
24,Ladybirds are Aphids’ natural enemies
25, Ladybirds feed on Aphids and control their population
26, Spraying insecticide would kill not only Aphids but also Ladybirds
27," By not spraying insecticide, you can protect Ladybirds and maintain the natural control of Aphids"
28,"After spraying chemicals, you need to wash your application equipment and personal protective clothing (PPE)"
29," Water used to wash these equipment contains chemicals, so if you do not manage it properly, it would contaminate the environment"
30,"When you spray vegetable fields, wash the equipment and pour the washing water back to the field"
31,"When you spray animals, wash the equipment and pour the washing water into a soak pit"
32," A soak pit should be filled with charcoal, which helps to purify the water"
33, Do not cut down indigenous trees to make charcoal
34, Remember also to wash the protective clothing
35, Treat the washing water in the same way as described above
36,"Domestic waste water, when its quantity is small, can be disposed by pouring into a canal dug in the backyard garden"
37," The canal should be planted with bananas and arrow roots, both of which absorb water very well"
38,"Eucalyptus trees are good source of fuel, but when they are planted near a wetland, river, stream or well, they absorb so much water that they can exhaust the water source"
39," If a stream or well gets dried up, it would cause significant negative impacts on the lives of your family and people in your community"
40, We need to protect the water sources
41,"Water is essential for our lives, and we need to secure sufficient supply of water for our living"
42, Harvesting rain water is an economic and efficient way to obtain water
43," You can collect the rain water that falls on the roof, and keep it in a tank"
44," You can use it in houses, and you can also use it for drinking after treating it or boiling it"
45," Rain is an important source of water, and we should know how to use it well"
46,"Burning destroys organic matter and microorganisms in the soil, and makes your soil poorer"
47, Burning for preparing the land is prohibited
48,"When a kitchen does not have escape for the smoke, the smoke contained in the room would cause serious health effects, damaging the lungs and eyes of the workers and their families"
49, A kitchen with a chimney protects their health and improves the workers’ quality of lives significantly
