Detailed Explanation of Tea Cultivation Techniques and Pest and Disease Control Methods

The “Positive List System” is a new system established by Japan to strengthen the management of residues of agricultural chemicals (including pesticides, veterinary drugs and feed additives, the same below) in food (including edible agricultural products, the same below). The system requires that the content of agricultural chemicals in food must not exceed the maximum residue limits; for agricultural chemicals for which no maximum residue limit has been established, their content in food must not exceed the “uniform limit”, i.e. 0.01 mg/kg. The system came into effect on May 29, 2006.
The items subject to mandatory inspection for tea are: triazophos (0.05 ppm)).
The component frequently detected is bis(2,3,3,3-tetrachloropropyl) ether.

Pesticides banned and restricted for tea exported to the EU

     The EU's new MRL standards for pesticides in tea for 2003 were promulgated on December 16, 2002. The pesticide MRL standards for tea promulgated this time total 193 items, an increase of 59 items over the 134 items in the standards promulgated on July 25, 2001. Among the 193 standards, 181 adopt the instrument's limit of detection (LOD) as the standard, accounting for 93.8% of the total, indicating that the 2003 EU standards were further tightened. Therefore, it is recommended:
    Continue to implement the ban on the use of: fenvalerate, esfenvalerate (Sumicidin), dicofol, methamidophos, DDT, BHC, acephate.

Annual Control Calendar

Month         Target of control  
             
MarchMonth         Leaf roller, tea tussock moth, smaller green leafhopper

April        Tea tussock moth, tea geometrid
              Tea aphid, Hypomeces squamosus                 
              Spring weeds
              Tea black tussock moth, tea tussock moth  
     
May        Snake-eye scale, white peach scale
              Smaller green leafhopper, tea aphid