Plantation Crops

CTC (Crush, Tear, Curl) processing passes withered leaves through rollers with sharp teeth that crush, tear, and curl the leaf into small pellets — producing a strong, dark liquor that brews quickly. Used for tea bags and mass-market blends. Orthodox processing uses gentle rolling to partially break leaf cells — produces whole-leaf or broken grades (Orange Pekoe, BOP) with complex, nuanced flavour preferred for specialty/premium markets. Darjeeling tea uses orthodox processing; Assam blends are mostly CTC. India produces both — CTC is ~85% of total output.

Arabica (*Coffea arabica*): grown at 1000–1500 m elevation (cooler), mild and aromatic, lower caffeine (~1.2%), susceptible to coffee leaf rust (*Hemileia vastatrix*), produced in Karnataka (Coorg), Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. Robusta (*C. canephora*): grown at lower elevations (<800 m), harsh and bitter taste, higher caffeine (~2.7%), resistant to coffee leaf rust, higher yield, used in espresso blends and instant coffee. India exports ~80% of its coffee production — 5th largest producer globally. Karnataka produces ~70% of India's coffee.

Rubber (*Hevea brasiliensis*) is ready for tapping when the girth reaches 50 cm (measured 1 m above ground) — typically at 5–7 years after planting. Tapping is done by making a half-spiral incision (S/2 cut) downward at 25–30° angle every 2 days (d/2 system) — cutting approximately 1.5 mm deep per tapping. Latex flows for 4–6 hours, collected in cups. Yield: 500–1500 kg dry rubber/ha/year; high-yielding clones (RRII 105, GT 1) yield 2000+ kg/ha. Kerala produces ~90% of India's natural rubber.

Coconut (*Cocos nucifera*) is planted at 7.5 × 7.5 m spacing (triangular system) — 175 palms/ha, or square system at 9 × 9 m — 123 palms/ha. The NABARD MBP uses 177 palms/ha as a standard figure. Tall varieties (West Coast Tall, East Coast Tall) begin bearing at 6–8 years; dwarf hybrids (D×T) at 3–4 years. Copra (dried kernel) yield: 1–1.5 MT/ha/year from traditional varieties; 2.5–3 MT from hybrids. Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh are major coconut states. Coconut Development Board (CDB) regulates the crop.

Oil palm (*Elaeis guineensis*) produces Fresh Fruit Bunches (FFBs) — clusters of fruit containing both palm oil (from mesocarp) and palm kernel oil (from kernel). FFB harvest starts at 2.5–3 years and peaks at 8–10 years. FFB yield: 20–25 MT/ha/year under irrigation; oil extraction rate (OER) ~20–22%. India has a National Mission on Edible Oils — Oil Palm (NMEO-OP, 2021) targeting 10 lakh hectares expansion by 2026, focused in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha, and Northeast. Viability price for FFB is set by government annually.

Key pest/disease pairs for exams: Tea — Red spider mite (*Oligonychus coffeae*), Blister blight (*Exobasidium vexans* — most devastating fungal disease). Coffee — Coffee leaf rust (*Hemileia vastatrix* — destroyed Sri Lanka's coffee industry in 1870s), White stem borer (*Xylotrechus quadripes*). Rubber — Abnormal Leaf Fall (ALF) caused by *Phytophthora meadii*; South American Leaf Blight (SALB, *Microcyclus ulei*) — not present in India but quarantine concern. Coconut — Rhinoceros beetle (*Oryctes rhinoceros*); Root (Wilt) disease — phytoplasma. Oil palm — bunch failure (nutritional — boron deficiency).