Read the extract given below and answer the questions:
Tea cultivation is an example of plantation agriculture. It is also an important beverage crop introduced in India initially by the British. Today, most of the tea plantations are owned by Indians. The tea plant grows well in tropical and sub-tropical climates endowed with deep and fertile welldrained soil, rich in humus and organic matter. Tea bushes require warm and moist frostfree climate all through the year. Frequent showers evenly distributed over the year ensure continuous growth of tender leaves. Tea is a labour-intensive industry. It requires abundant, cheap and skilled labour. Tea is processed within the tea garden to restore its freshness. Major tea producing states are Assam, hills of Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Apart from these, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Meghalaya, Andhra Pradesh and Tripura are also tea-producing states in the country. In 2015 India was the second largest producer of tea after China.
Question (i)
Who introduced tea cultivation in India?
From the paragraph
Tea cultivation is an example of plantation agricultur e . It is also an important beverage crop introduced in India initially by the British . Today, most of the tea plantations are owned by Indians.
Answer: The British initially introduced the tea plant to India.
Question (ii)
Which type of climate is best from growing tea plant?
From the paragraph
Today, most of the tea plantations are owned by Indians. The tea plant grows well in tropical and sub-tropical climates endowed with deep and fertile welldrained soil, rich in humus and organic matter. Tea bushes require warm and moist frostfree climate all through the year. Frequent showers evenly distributed over the year ensure continuous growth of tender leaves . Tea is a labour-intensive industry.
Answer:
- The tea plant grows well in tropical and sub-tropical climates endowed with deep and fertile well-drained soil.
- Tea bushes require a warm and moist frost-free climate throughout the year.
- Frequent showers are evenly dispersed throughout the year so that tender leaves grow well.
Question (iii)
Why is tea a labour- intensive industry?
Answer:
Tea is a labor-intensive crop that demands cheap and skilled labor particularly during the plucking of tea leaves . Plucking tea leaves is a tedious process that requires skilled manipulation of fingers for plucking two leaves and a bud at a time.
Question (iv)
Name the major tea-producing states of India.
Answer:
From the paragraph
Tea is processed within the tea garden to restore its freshness. Major tea producing states are Assam, hills of Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Apart from these, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Meghalaya, Andhra Pradesh and Tripura are also
Major tea-producing states: Assam , West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala , Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Meghalaya, Andhra Pradesh and Tripura
Question (v)
Why is tea processed within the tea garden?
From the paragraph
Tea is a labour-intensive industry. It requires abundant, cheap and skilled labour. Tea is processed within the tea garden to restore its freshness . Major tea producing states are Assam, hills of Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
Answer:
Tea is processed within the tea garden to restore its freshness.
Question (vi)
Which state ranks first in tea production in India?
Answer:
India's leading tea-producing state is Assam .
