Review on Research Carried Out by the Tea Research Institute of Sri Lanka on Climate Change Impacts and the Need of Implementing Good Agricultural Practices

Recent placement of Sri Lanka at the 2^nd place in the global climate risk index 2018 indicates the possibility of occurrence of frequent extreme weather events. Being a rain-fed plantation crop grown in different regions, vulnerability of tea plantations for impacts of climate change would be significant. Taking timely precautions on adaptation and mitigation measures for the reduction of adverse impacts of climate change, is therefore important. This paper will present a review of climate change research conducted on tea by the Tea Research Institute of Sri Lanka to update the knowledge and to identify the gaps. Additionally, the paper will present information on carbon sequestration potential and provisional carbon budget for tea plantations in view of assuring sustainability of the industry. It was re-confirmed that tea plantations are carbon negative or climate positive. Proper establishment and management of both high and medium shade trees in the plantations will not only enhance physiology of the tea plants resulting higher yield, but also contribute significantly for maintaining negative carbon balance or environmentally positiveness.