Question

Write the difference between the cultivation of two important beverages, tea and coffee.

Answer 1

Difference in cultivation of two important beverages
Factors	Tea	Coffee
Climate	Tropical and sub- tropical climate required.21ºC to 29ºC is ideal for the production of tea. The high temperature is required in summer. The lowest temperature for the growth of tea is 16ºC. 150-250 cm of rainfall is required for tea cultivation.	Coffee is grown on the tropical highlands. It requires a temperature between 16 degrees C to 28 degrees C, all year round. It is sensitive to cold and frost. Direct sunrays are injurious to the plant; it is often grown in the shades of other trees. The coffee plant needs rainfall ranging between 125 cm and 200 cm. The rainfall should be well distributed throughout the year.
Soil	Tea shrubs require fertile mountains soil mixed with lime and iron.The soil should be rich in humus.	The coffee plant needs deep loamy soil formed from weathered lava. coffee soils in India belong to red and lateritic soils. They are rich in iron and organic matter.
Landform	Tea is grown favourably on well- drained gently rolling plain lands, low plateau areas,and hill-slopes.	Hill slopes and plateau areas are favourable for coffee cultivation.
Demand	Tea is the most popular beverage in India leading to high internal demand.	coffee is the second most popular beverage in India, and it also has a relatively higher price.
Labour	Tea is one of the most labour-intensive types of cultivation requiring an abundant supply of cheap and skilled labour.	Coffee is also labor-intensive cultivation, but its requirements  are much less than that of tea.
Areas of production	Major tea- producing states are Assam, hills of Darjeeling and Jalpaiquri 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.	coffee cultivation is confined to the Nilgiri in Karnataka,kerala and Tamil Nadu