Tea cultivation requires the leaves to be processed within the tea garden itself rather than being transporte…

Question

Tea cultivation requires the leaves to be processed within the tea garden itself rather than being transported elsewhere. Explain why immediate processing is essential for tea, and describe any two other geographical or labour conditions that make tea a unique plantation crop in India.

Accepted Answer

## Model Answer Tea leaves are tender and begin to lose freshness and quality very quickly after plucking. Hence, **tea is processed within the tea garden itself** to retain its flavour and freshness. **Two other unique conditions:** 1. **Geographical/Climate condition:** Tea requires a warm, moist, frost-free climate throughout the year with frequent and evenly distributed rainfall to ensure continuous growth of tender leaves. 2. **Labour condition:** Tea is a labour-intensive industry requiring **abundant, cheap, and skilled labour** for plucking the delicate leaves carefully. *Source: Chapter 4 — Major Crops, Tea section* --- ## Explanation Examiners expect three distinct points for 3 marks: (1) why immediate processing is needed — freshness, (2) one geographical condition, (3) one labour condition. Directly quote or paraphrase the textbook phrases like "restore its freshness," "warm and moist frost-free climate," and "abundant, cheap and skilled labour" — these are scoring keyword…

Social Science (087) — AI-generated practice question