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r and 8‘" D ecem b er 2015 I Colombo, Sri Lanka

Sustainable Weed Management in the Commercial Tea Industry: The Case of Hapugastenne Estate, Maskeliya

H.M.P. Peiris, Hapugastenne Estate, Maskeliya Plantations PLC & Postgraduate Institute o f Science, University o f Peradeniya, Sri Lanka

A.D. Nuwan Gunarathne (admwanld)smail.com. nuwan(a)sjp.ac.Ik), Department ofAccounting, University o f Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka

AbstractTea sector o f Sri Lanka earns US$ 1.6 billion net foreign exchange annually while caring

over one million direct and indirect employments and 2.5 million dependents. Controlling o f

problematic weeds is important to maintain steady and quality crop levels in commercial tea.

Real effectiveness o f plant killer chemicals (weedicides) in commercial tea is questionable

against the emergence o f various unintended and unforeseen detrimental side effects on the

eco-systems, human health and tea bushes. The purpose o f this study is to demonstrate the

economic, environmental and social benefits o f Herbicide Free Integrated W eed M anagement

(HFIW M) over chemical weeding in the commercial tea industry.

A commercial scale trial on HFIW M was conducted in Hapuhastenne Estate, where natural

regeneration o f vegetation was allowed to form a ground cover, ceasing the usage o f

weedicides completely, whilst selective periodic removal o f harmful weeds grown in the

experimental tea area. These results were compared against the control plots o f non-HFIW M

tea area in the garden. Analysis showed an improvement in overall performance o f tea bushes

in the long run with HFIW M, enhancing the product quality and soil environment. Moreover

HFIWM approach exhibits many direct and indirect benefits over chemical weeding in

commercial tea in the lines o f crop productivity, cost o f inputs, public health, environment

and the socio-economic factors. HFIWM approach was therefore, found economically,

socially and environmentally more desirable. The study reveals HFIW M approach could be a

sound solution to mitigate many o f the constraints faced by the present day commercial tea

industry in Sri Lanka.

Faculty o f Management Studies and Commerce University o f Sri Jayewardenepura Gangodawilla, Nugegoda K-Muil; icbm@sjp.uc. Ik W FJi: www.icbmusjp.org, wgl.sjp.ac./k

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Keywords: Herbicide Free Integrated Weed Management. W eedicides. Commercial Tea

Plantations, Sustainable Plantations, Sustainable Agriculture.

JEL Classification: Q01

Introduction

Tea sector o f Sri Lanka reached a total output o f 338.4 million kilograms and earned US$ 1.6

billion net foreign exchange in year 2014 (Sri Lanka Tea Board-SLTB, 2014). The tea

industry o f this island nation cares over 1 million direct and indirect employments, plus 2.5

million dependents as well. Further, the country has already earned global reputation for the

production o f the finest and also the cleanest tea in the world and maintained same almost for

the past 150 years. This is purely due to the unique flavor confined to Ceylon Tea along with

the least contamination levels recorded with regard to agro-chemical residues when compared

with the C a m e lia T ea (C a m e lia s in e n s is is th e b o ta n ic a l te rm o f te a p la n t. G e n e ra lly , th e

te rm T ea c o m m o n ly r e f e r s to h o t w a te r b r e w m a d e o u t o f a n y d r i e d p la n t m a t te r a s p e r

g e n e r a l te r m in o lo g y . C a m e lia T ea s p e c if ie s th e p la n t o r ig in o f th e te a .) o f other origins, and

hence become the highest paid tea in the world at present (Sri Lanka Tea Board-SLTB,

2014). However, Sri L anka's plantation workers are the highest paid and also the best looked

after employees in tea sector in the world. This same factor in the meantime, resulted in

rocketing up the cost o f production o f Ceylon Tea over 800% within the past two decades.

Due to this quick rising cost o f production, commercial tea plantations in Sri Lanka have

gradually become loss making over the years. Thus, the future o f the commercial tea

plantations in the country would be uncertain unless there are real breakthroughs achieved in

terms o f productivity and marketing.

Weed control counts for the second highest costliest operation next to harvesting

(plucking) among the agronomic practices in commercial tea. Weed management is essential

in agriculture near e c o n o m ic c r o p d a m a g e le v e l (th is is th e f in a n c ia l lo s s le v e l w h e re the

in te n s i ty o f e c o n o m ic lo s s c a u s e d b y c r o p d a m a g e e x c e e d s th e r e a l c o s t o f p e s t c o n tr o l. M o d e

o f p e s t c o n tr o l s h o u ld b e d e c id e d a t th is p o in t d e p e n d in g o n th e e ffe c t o n p r o f i ta b i l i ty b y the

s e v e r i ty o f p o s s ib le m o n e ta r y lo s s .) to arrest quality and quantity losses in farm products,

thus, commercial tea is no exception. Therefore, controlling o f problematic weeds is

important to maintain steady and better quality crop levels in commercial tea. Hence, as per

2Faculty o f Management Studies and Commerce University o f Sri Jayewardenepura Gangodawilla, Nugegoda E-Mail: icbm@sjp.at\lk WEB: wwwJcbmtLyp.org, mgl.sjp.acJk

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the today’s context o f agriculture, usage o f toxic, plant killer chemicals, also known as

weedicides (herbicides) to m eet this objective is a common practice, in general. Sri Lanka

imported nearly 8 million kilograms o f herbicide chemicals, spending Rs. 4.6 billion and 6

million kilograms, paying Rs. 3.3 billion o f foreign exchange in 2013 and 2014 respectively

(Sri Lanka Customs, 2014). Though the exact numbers are not available, a m ajor fraction o f

these herbicide imports are absorbed by the commercial tea plantations where four to five

herbicide applications per annum is common.

However, the actual effectiveness o f these weedicides in the commercial tea is greatly

questionable against the subsequent emergence o f various, unintended and unforeseen

detrimental side effects, debilitating the eco-systems, human health and also the tea bushes in

addition. Hence the real affectivity o f permitted weedicides recom m ended for weed control

in commercial tea plantations has become greatly uncertain, due to the intense emergence o f

herbicide tolerant weed species on treated areas causing persistent economic crop loss. Any

additional expenditure incurred under actual weed control is compelled to be absorbed

elsewhere in the budget, since the cost o f weeding is closely monitored at the corporate level.

Therefore, a considerable fraction o f the true cost o f effective weed control in commercial tea

is partially hidden in the expenditure incurred in some other field operations carried out in

plantations. The purpose o f this study is to demonstrate the economic, environmental and

social benefits o f Herbicide Free Integrated Weed M anagement (HFIW M ) over chemical

weeding (non-lW M ) in the commercial tea plantations. By providing a wider economic

analysis, this study would therefore would be a catalyst in creating a paradigm shift in the

mind set o f the plantation community, towards HFIW M, from the presently adapted Clean

and Clear Ground weeding (this refers to maintenance o f the ground beneath tea cover and

other areas in a plantation, exposed and free from plants o f any other sort by using any

means) policy whilst attaining improved productivity and profitability levels.

The rest o f the paper is organized as follows: Section Two provides the literature review

o f the study while Section Three presents the method followed. The next sections provide the

discussion and findings o f the study and the last section concludes.

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Literature review

Plantations in the global economy and sustainable development

Historically, plantations were established to supply raw materials to the industrialized nations

in 18th and 19,h centuries. Some developing countries still follow this practice and, however,

increasingly find the system against them (Sivaram, 2000) chiefly due to the persistent low

prices in the world market. Plantation companies also undergo pressures imposed by the

buyers led with various international food product and process certifying authorities. Among

these pressures, the demand to follow sustainable agricultural practices stemming from the

notion o f sustainable development is important and having a lasting impact on the industry.

Though the roots o f sustainability have a long history the contemporary sustainability

concept emerged in the 1960s (McKenzie. 2004). The commonly used sustainable

development concept was first defined in The United Nations Commission on Environment

and Development (U N CED )'s report Our Common Future (1987), which defines sustainable

development as “development that meets the needs o f the present without compromising the

ability o f future generations to meet their own needs" (page 07). Since then sustainable

development has become a central issue in political and scientific bodies (Lichtfouse et al.,

2009) that led to various global movements. Triple bottom line, developed by Elkington

(1997), has become commonplace practice o f reporting sustainability performance

encompassing environmental, social as well as economic concerns.

Sustainable agriculture

With the rise o f global population, agriculture has become an industry o f importance due to

its contribution as a source o f livelihood and employment, supply o f food and fodder,

international trade, economic development, human health and food security

(Agriculturegoods, 2013). While making these contributions, agricultural sector itself has

attempted to embrace sustainable practices, like any other industry', leading to sustainable

agriculture. According to Swanton and Weise (1991), the concept o f sustainable agriculture

is a philosophical shift due to current unsustainable systems in relatively recent traditional

agriculture.

Sustainable agriculture has been defined in numerous ways (Lichtfouse et al.. 2009;

Francis et al., 1987; Gafsi et al., 2006). As per Francis et al. (1987), sustainable agriculture

addresses social concerns and environmental protection. Gafsi et al. (2006). having similar

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7'h a n d 8 ,h D e c e m b e r 20 1 5 \ C olom bo, S r i L anka

views, emphasize that it is the ability o f the agricultural systems to maintain crop productivity

in the long run by adapting to changes. All these different perspectives on sustainable

agriculture focus on the ability to continue over a long period o f time w hilst maintaining

economic, environmental and social considerations (Lichtfouse et al., 2009). More

specifically Mary and Gold (1999) define sustainable agriculture as an integrated system o f

plant and animal production practices having a site-specific application over the long term.

Integrated weed management

Weeds in general terms, could be defined as plants which arise in all types o f agriculture

other than desired crops. They become problematic only when continue to cause huge

economic damage to the farm. Despite the technological advancements, these problematic

weeds trigger great financial loss in both developed and developing countries, (Auld, 2004).

Therefore, control o f m ajor weeds in a plantation is crucial to maintain healthy crop yield.

However, when only one or few techniques are used to control weeds over a longer period,

there is a chance that weeds get adapted and become tolerant to those techniques (Bhowmic,

1997). Currently, there are growing economic, environmental and social demands to use

alternative weed management practices, such as integrated weed management (IWM)

(Pannell, 1990; Swanton and Weise 1991; Clements, Weise and Swanton, 1994; Auld, 2004).

Integrated Weed M anagement (IW M) uses a combination o f alternative long term weed

management strategies such as cultural techniques, genetic characters, m echanical removal,

biological agents, and chemical means o f weed control etc. So that, whenever the reliance o f

one technique is reduced, rest o f the techniques could be effective for the future use (Swanton

and Weise, 1991). IWM will therefore, using a variety o f control techniques, keep weeds less

capable o f being able to adapt to a constantly changing system.

Farmer’s / Planter’s unfamiliarity or inexperience with a num ber o f the control options,

difficulty in predicting long-term o f impacts o f multiple control options, difficulties in

isolating impacts o f individual treatments within an integrated strategy, and identifying the

most sustainable options due to the availability o f many possibilities are some o f the salient

challenges in IWM (Pannell et al., 2004). Therefore there is a need to evaluate the

effectiveness o f IWM strategies over long term in the economic, social and environmental

dimensions. However, there is dearth o f systematic studies that identify the long term

_______________________________________________________________________________ 5Faculty o f Management Studies and Commerce University o f Sri Jayewardenepura Gangodawiila, Nugegoda E-M ail: ichm@sjp.ac. Ik W EB: www.icbmusjp.org, mgi.sjp.ac.lk

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effectiveness of practicing IWM strategies in terms of economic, social and environmental

dimensions in various contexts.

Method

In order to provide an in-depth understanding of the use of weedicides and their impacts, case

study method was selected in this study (Yin, 2009). The company selected for the study is

Maskeliya Plantations PLC, a company listed in the Colombo Stock Exchange. Maskeliya

Plantations is in the central highlands of the country and lies in the elevation range of 850m

to 1,660m. The company comprises of 5 estates each in Upcot and Maskeliya zones, 4 in

Talawakelle zone and 4 estates in Uva tea sector in Bandarawela zone. The commercial scale

trial in this study was conducted in Hapugastenne Estate (325 ha), in Maskeliya zone in a

demarcated area of one hectare in a V e g e ta tiv e ly P r o p a g a te d T ea (V P T ) (C o m m e r c ia l te a is

p r o p a g a t e d b y p la n ts d e v e lo p e d th ro u g h r o o t in g o f te n d e r s in g le n o d e d s te m c u tt in g s w ith a

l e a f a n d a la te r a l bu d , a n d te r m e d V PT ) field aged 35 years from planting, ceasing the usage

of weedicides completely for a period of three years from August 2012 to July 2015. A

complete clearing of the undergrowth beneath tea bushes was done on entire experimental

area simultaneously, following to cyclic pruning of tea bushes in the field. All chemical

resistant weeds present too were completely removed from the ground by manual uprooting

during this process. Natural Regeneration of Vegetation was allowed to establish as a ground

cover over the soil and controlled by means of frequent manual slashing near ground level

depending on the growth (Treatment). The tea area adjoining to above said VPT field was

declared as the chemically weeded Non-IWM (Control) section, where weed control was

exclusively done by using herbicide chemicals. Sporadic spraying of herbicides, namely

Diuron, Paraquat and Glyphosate was done in three monthly intervals depending on the types

of weeds present and their stage of growth, as per the recommendations set by the Tea

Research Institute (TRI) of Sri Lanka (2003). Selective removal of harmful weeds grown (as

per Rajkhowa et al., 2005) in the experimental tea area was done, including both HF1WM and

non-IWM extents periodically. All other agricultural practices other than the mode of weed

control (tested factor) in both treated and control areas were done alike and parallel during

the whole period. Observations were recorded there onwards, whilst monitoring the

performance and the variations exhibited by the naturally regenerated vegetative ground

cover on both experimental areas periodically. Data on tea crop of the experimental area too______________________________________________________________________________6Faculty o f Management Studies and Commerce University o f Sri Jayewardenepura Gangodawiila, Nugegoda E-Mail: ichm@sjp.ac. Ik WEB: www.icbmiisjp.org, mgl.sjp.uc.lk

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was randomly taken in the meantime on the harvested green-leaf basis per equivalent square

area of tea pover. Data gathered from treated extent and the control area were collected

concurrently, just before the spraying of herbicides over the control area, The results obtained

from HFIWM extent were compared against the data collected from adjacent control plots of

non-1 WM tea area in the tea garden.

Discussion

The analysis and the discussion of the study was carried out in two aspects, a) economic

benefits to an estate and, b) broader benefits to society. The first aspect, economic benefits to

an estate, is discussed under three cost/income categories. The second aspect, broader

benefits to society, is discussed in terms of economic, social and environmental perspectives.

Economic benefits to an estate

The economic benefits are the quantifiable monetary benefits for an estate as a result of the

HFIWM strategy followed. Although there can be many other monetary and non-monetary

benefits to an estate, the study focused on three cost/income categories such as value of

compost equivalent biomass, cost of weeding and the impact on profit by variations in tea

crop. The following sections describe these three cost/income categories in detail before the

total benefit/cost analysis is presented.

a) Biomass generated by understory and the resultant compost equivalent value

Initially, the total green matter (biomass) generated by the undergrowth appeared through

Natural Vegetative Regeneration (NVR) {Naturally grown plant cover on a disturbed soil.

Generally, the plant composition o f these vegetations are largely governed by soil seed bank,

previous vegetation and also the vegetation on nearby lands) in treated and control plots

exhibited similar pattern. The compost equivalent of the biomass added to the soil was

estimated at 10 % of the fresh biomass weight (see note 2 for more details). The following

table shows the biomass, compost equivalent and value of compost equivalent added (refer

Table 1). This compost equivalent (i.e. 22, 224 kg over the three year period) is three folds

greater than the standard minimum compost requirement of a tea land under local terms.

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T able 1: B iom ass g en era tio n a n d benefits o f H F IW M sec tio n Vs. non-IW M sec tion

HFIW M section Non-IWM SectionYear Biomass Compost Value of Biomass Compost Value of

(kg ha " equivalent compost (kg ha " equivalent compost(kg ha " (Rs.)* (kg ha " (Rs.)*

First 67,750 6,775 125,202 14,390 1,439 26,593Second 124,470 12,447 230.020 12,760 1,276 23.580Third 32,210 3,221 54,524 4,230 423 7,817Total 224,430 22,443 409,746 31,380 3,138 57, 990* Compost is valued at Rs. 18.48/kg which represents the making and application of compost under present dayestate conditions.

Non-IW M section o f the experiment delivered 3,138 kg ha''com post materials to the

ecosystem, managing to supply only around 50% o f the minimum recommended compost

requirement for tea soils. M onetary value o f same was Rs.57,990 for the whole period o f the

investigation which was only 14% o f the compost yielded by HFIW M section o f the

experiment.

b) Weeding cost

The total expenditure on weed management in the HFIWM section was Rs. 128.709 for the

period with an average o f Rs 42,903 ha^year'1 (refer Table 02). The total weeding cost of

non-IW M portion was Rs.224,292 for the period with an average o f Rs.74,764 h a '1 year'1.

Table 2: W eeding co st o f H F IW M sec tion Vs. non-IW M sec tion

HFIWM section Non-IWM SectionYear Cost of weeding

(Rs.)*Cost of weeding

(Rs.)*First 43,463 91.188Second 51,744 69,504Third 33,502 63,000Total 128,709 223,692

c) Profit generated by tea crop

A gradual drop o f about 03% to 05% in tea crop level was noted in the HFIWM area up to

about 15,h Month, except for drought periods. Interestingly, HFIWM area maintained the crop

level during the prolonged rain-free periods which is an indication o f better moisture

retention ability in the soil. The overall crop improvement compared to control area was in

the range o f 06% to 08% in the second year with a gradual increase. Non-IW M tea section

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displayed signs of moisture stress under rain free conditions which was followed on by a 20%

to 30% decline in the crop availability.

As given in Table 3, when the comparative crop surplus converted into monetary terms it

was observed that performance of HFIWM section had even offered marginal benefits in tea

crop which clearly shows a positive trend.

Table 3: Tea crop o f HFIWM section Vs. non-IWM section

Year Profit per kg(Rs.)

HFIWM section Non-IWM SectionCrop

(kg ha'11Value(Rs.)

Crop (kg ha "

Value(Rs.)

First 77.54 1,214 94,124 1,245 96,537Second 54.33 1,539 83,630 1,466 79,648Third 33.94 1,733 58,832 1,605 54,474Total 4,487 236,586 4*316 230,659

d) Total benefits/cost analysis

The above three items, weeding cost, biomass generation and profit from crop were

compared against HFIWM and non-IWM sections on a yearly basis (refer table 4). It revealed

that from the first year onwards there is a net benefit of HFIWM approach. HFIWM offered

the plantation a package of overall monetary benefits worth more than Rs.450,000 ha'1 over

non-IWM section.

Table 4: Total annual benefits/cost analysis of HFIWM section Vs. non-IWM sectionFirst Second Third

Savings/(additional

cost/loss)

Savings/(additional

cost/loss)

Savings/(additional

cost/loss)

Cost of weeding

HFIWM

Non-IWM

43,463

91,18847,725

51,744

69,50417,760

33,502

63,00029,498

-

Bio mass generated

HFIWMNon-IWM

125,20226,593 98,609

230,02023,580 206,440

54,5247,817 46,707

Crop valueHFIWMNon-IWM

94,12496,537

(2,413)83,63079,648

3,98258,83254,474

4,358

Total 143,921 228,182 80,563

In addition to these quantifiable benefits to an estate, HFIWM strategy further brings in

many additional benefits to the society, some of which are hard to quantify. The next section

describes these benefits.

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Broader benefits to society

The broader benefits are quantifiable as w ell as non-quantifiable benefits for the society

(country) as a result o f the H FIW M strategy fo llow ed . T hese benefits are d iscu ssed in terms

o f the three p erspectives o f sustainability nam ely, econ om ic , socia l and environm ental. The

fo llo w in g sections describe these three perspectives in detail.

a) Economic benefits

Benefit to the working community

Earnings o f w orkers are d irectly related to the crop availab ility on a tea garden. HFIW M

im proved the crop availab ility by 0 3k g to 04k g per day over non-IW M in 0 2 nd and the 0 3 rd

years (refer note 3 for m ore details). For a regularly w orking p lucker this cou ld increase

annual earnings betw een Rs. 17 ,250 year'2 to R s.2 3 .0 0 0 year0 w hilst im proving the total

fam ily in com e by m ultip les o f sam e depending on the num ber o f fam ily m em bers w orking in

the estate.

b) Social and environmental benefits

Improved work place fo r employees

HFIW M w ould gradually im prove the quality o f water flow generated by the w ater sheds

w ithin the estate as herbicide usage is ceased , providing healthy drinking w ater to the estate

com m unity. Further the sam e w ould create herbicides free, healthier w orking environm ent

for all field workers in the estate, w hilst ensuring m any other indirect benefits to ecosystem s

as w ell.

Improved drinking water quality to Colombo and Gampaha districts

N on e o f the w ater treatm ent plants in Sri Lanka has the facilities to rem ove herbicide residues

from contam inated river/stream water in the purification process. Therefore, water delivered

for drinking and other dom estic usage in urban areas through purification plants contain

num erous types o f tox ic chem ical residues including herbicide residues. R esidents in

C olom bo and G am paha districts are greatly dependent on R iver K elani for their drinking

w ater and any effort m ade to m in im ize contam ination o f this water has utm ost im portance.

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Positive impacts on bio-diversity

B oth land p lots w ere dom inated by broad leaved plant sp ec ies w ith in the first s ix m onths

push ing the grass sp ec ies to secon d p lace (see note 1 for m ore d eta ils). H ow ever, the variety

o f plant sp ec ies started to d iffer w ith in tw o sections as the tim e passed . H FIW M area w as

covered w ith over 75% o f the so il surface w ith vegetative undergrow th by around s ix m onths

and reached near 100% in 08 to 09 m onths after initiation o f the study. T he degree o f ground

cover w as h igh ly fluctuating in b etw een 10% and 35% in the n on-IW M area. G reen matter

produced by the understory in non-IW M section a lso rem ained com paratively at a low

stagnant level. P ossib le variances in d iversity o f fauna sp ec ies , fungi and other m icrobiota

and their activ ity lev e ls w ere not investigated in this study.

Findings

The above analysis reveals that the m ain benefit o f H FIW M is derived from the co st o f

com post saved. T he H FIW M p lot d isp layed a w ay ahead perform ance com pared to non-IW M

area in term s o f green m atter and resulted com p ost y ie ld s . T herefore it is ob v iou s that

HFIW M has an incom parably greater ability to im prove so il con d itions w h ich favour plant

growth, in this case, com m ercia l tea. S econ d ly , H FIW M prevents the tea bush from short and

long term detrim ental e ffec ts caused by ex p o sin g to spray drifts (N athanial, 1985). Thus, the

HFIW M strategy im proves the overall perform ance o f p lantations in the lon g run w h ile

enhancing the land productivity and so il environm ent. T hese b enefits are clearly m agnified

during drought periods due to the im provem ent in m oisture retention ab ility in the so il. A s

G afsi et al. (2 0 0 6 ) su ggest, the ab ility o f the agricultural sy stem s to m aintain crop

productivity in the lon g run by adapting to changes, is a benefit o f sustainable agriculture

practices. Y et, ana lyzin g on ly the crop y ie ld m ay not so m etim es reveal the fu ll benefits o f a

H FIW M strategy. T herefore there is a need to con sid er broader factors such as so il

environm ent, w eed in g cost, etc w hen evaluating the financial v iab ility o f u sing traditional or

innovative w eed m anagem ent practices.

In addition to econ om ic benefits at estate level, H FIW M strategy exh ib its m any indirect

social benefits over ch em ica l w eed in g in term s o f public health, environm ent and the so c io ­

econ om ic factors. T he non-quantifiable benefits o f H FIW M su ch as im provem ents in

drinking w ater quality are quite important. M ost o f the plantations h ou se precious sources o f

water that are supplied to urban areas and any contam ination m ay have lon g term

Faculty o f Management Studies and Commerce University o f Sri Jayewardenepura Gangodawilla, Nugegoda E-M ail: jchm@sjp.ac.Ik W EB: www.icbmnsjp.orx, mgl.sjp.ac.lk

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Proceedings of 12th International Conference on Business Management' ^ h ttp ://ssm .com /link /12th -IC B M -2015 .h tm l

7th a n d D e c e m b e r 2015 \ Coiom bo, S ri Lanka

im plications on public health, esp ecia lly in d evelop in g countries. This is m ainly because

d evelop in g countries lack facilities for herbicide purification due to undeveloped o f

techn ology . Further, it w as revealed that an im provem ent in tea crop availab ility could

increase a tea p lucker’s nett earnings substantially and the total fam ily in com e by m ultip les o f

sam e d epending on the num ber o f fam ily m em bers w orking in an estate. T herefore it is

necessary to look at broader socia l and environm ental im plications w hen evaluating the

viab ility o f u sing H FIW M strategies than sim ply look in g at financial viab ility . In this regard,

the triple bottom line approach that h ighlights econ om ic , socia l and environm ental

perspectives (E lk ington , 1997) is a m ore desirable w ay o f analysis. The approach to consider

econ om ic , environm ental and socia l dem ands in using alternative w eed m anagem ent

practices has been h ighlighted w ay back by Pannell (1 9 9 0 ) and Sw anton and W eise (1991 )

and thereafter by A uld (2 0 0 4 ) also.

Conclusions

It is w ell ev ident that H FIW M is therefore econ om ica lly , soc ia lly and environm entally more

desirable as h igh lighted by L ich tfouse et al. (2 0 0 9 ) w ho d iscu ssed the benefits o f sustainable

agriculture am ong m any others. The study su ggests that HFIW M approach cou ld be a sound

solu tion to m itigate m any o f the constraints faced by the present day com m ercia l plantations

industry in Sri Lanka and in d evelop in g countries in general. The support and com m itm ent o f

regulators w ill be needed to con v in ce the ‘hard to tangibalize' benefits to the plantation sector

on a system atic basis. Further, gradual im provem ent in tea crop over tim e a lon g w ith quantity

and higher quality can certain ly support w orldw ide prom otion o f C ey lon T ea as the cleanest

tea in the planet at a tim e w hen the food security is dem anded by the d eveloped countries

w ho introduced p lantations to the d evelop in g nations (Sivaram , 2000).

The benefits and the con clu sion s h ighlighted in the study can be restricted due to certain

lim itations inherent in the study. The unique location, lim ited tim e period o f three years and

m any other factors in this case study m ay m ake the find ings o f the study d ifficu lt to

gen eralize (Y in , 2 0 0 9 ). The authors therefore, attempted to h ighlight the broad benefits,

directions and the trends, rather than being confined to sp ec ific m easurem ents in this study.

M oreover, in eva luating the cost or benefits the author considered the w orst-case scenario.

This cou ld therefore o ffer better benefits in the future i f sim ilar stud ies are replicated.

M oreover, these lim itations call for future studies under d ifferent so il cond itions, clim ate

12Faculty o f Management Studies and Commerce University o f Sri Jayewardenepura Gangodawilla. Nugegoda E-Mail: whm@sjp.ac.lk WEB: www.ichmiLyp.org, mgt.sfp.ac.tk

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cond itions, crop varieties, etc to iden tify and gen eralize the find ings. A nother lim itation o fi

the study is the lim ited num ber o f b en efits /co sts that w ere quantified. T he authors b e liev e that

there can be m any other broader item s that cou ld have b een m easured such as b io-d iversity ,

public health, so il environm ent, etc. Thus the future stud ies should en com p ass the

in vo lvem ent o f p rofessional o f d iverse d iscip lines w ork ing together in broader p erspectives

in the lon g run to m easure direct and indirect costs as su ggested by P annell et al. (2 0 0 4 ).

Notes[1| Ageratum conyzoides (Hulanthalaa), Polygonum nepalense (Kangani Machan Pullu), Crassocephalus

crepidioides (Thandam pullu), Hedyotis auricularia (Maha Getakola), Hedyotis neesiana (Heen Getakola), and

Commelina benghalensis (Giraapalaa), were the leading plant species observed.

|2] Plant leaf materials consist between 70% to 80% moisture, and dry plant leaf matter to compost conversion

ratio is ranging around 50%. Therefore the slashed green matter to compost conversion on dry weight basis was

calculated. Compost equivalent of the biomass added to the soil per annum was estimated at 10 % of the fresh

biomass weight by weed residual decomposition.

Biomass dry weight basis

Compost out turn Compost volume-

Biomass wet weight basis - 80% moisture 20% * biomass wet weight basis 50% * dry biomass 10% * Biomass wet weight basis

|3| B e n e fi ts to th e w o r k in g c o m m u n i ty

Year Average plucking (kg day-1)

Actual plucking (kg day-')

Over plucking (kg day-1)

Yearly additional earnings

(Rs)*First 25 24 -1 -5,750Second 25 28 3 17,250Third 25 29 4 23,000Total 34,500

* Over plucking quantity was valued at Rs. 23 kg-1 assuming 250 days o f average annual working days.

References:AGR1CULTUREGOODS. (2013) The Importance of Agriculture, available online

http://aericulturegoods.com/the-importance-of-agriculture/ accessed 06 July, 2015.

AULD, B. A. (2004) The persistence of weeds and their social impact, In tern a tio n a l J o u rn a l o f S o c ia l

E conom ics, 31(9), pp. 879-886.

BHOWMIC, P. C. (1997) Weed Biology: Importance to Weed Management, W eed S c ien ce , 45, pp. 349-356

Faculty o f Management Studies and Commerce University o f Sri Jayewardenepura Gangodawilla, Nugegoda E-M ail: ichm@sjp.ac.lk W EB: www.ichmii.yp.org, mgl.sjp.ac.lk

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7 ^Proceedings of 12th International Conference on Business Managementhttp://ssrn .com /link712th-IC B M -2015.htm l

7* a n d S'* D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 5 | C o lo m b o , S r i L a n k a

C L E M E N T S . D . R . . W E I S E . S . F. a n d S W A N T O N . C . J. ( 1 9 9 4 ) I n t e g r a t e d w e e d m a n a g e m e n t a n d w e e d

s p e c i e s d i v e r s i t y , P h y to p r o te c t io n . 7 5 ( 1 ) , p. 1-18

E L K I N G T O N , J. ( 1 9 9 7 ) C a n n ib a l s w ith F o rk s : Th e T r ip le B o tto m L in e o f T w e n ty -F ir s t C e n tu r y B u s in e ss .

O x f o r d : C a p s t o n e .

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a n d i n c r e a s e d p r o f i t s . C r o p s S o i l s M a n a g e m e n t. 3 9 . pp . 1 2 - 1 4 .

G A F S I . M . . . L E G A G N E U X , B . . N G U Y E N . G . a n d R O B I N . P. ( 2 0 0 6 ) T o w a r d s u s t a i n a b l e f a r m i n g s v s t e m s :

e f f e c t i v e n e s s a n d d e f i c i e n c y o f t h e F r e n c h p r o c e d u r e o f s u s t a i n a b l e a g r i c u l t u r e . A g r ic u l tu r a l S y s te m s . 9 0 ,

p p . 2 2 6 - 2 4 2 .

L I C H T F O U S E , E . , N A V A R R E T E , M . , D E B A E K E , P.. S O U C H E R E . V . . A L B E R O L A . C . . a n d M E N A S S 1 E U .

J. ( 2 0 0 9 ) A g r o n o m y f o r s u s t a i n a b l e a g r i c u l t u r e . A r e v i e w . A g r o n o m y f o r S u s ta in a b le D e v e lo p m e n t . 2 9 ( 1).

PP I*6

M A R Y , V . a n d G O L D . M . V . ( 1 9 9 9 ) S u s ta in a b le A g r ic u l tu r e . B e l t s v i l l e : N a t i o n a l A g r i c u l t u r a l L i b r a r v . U S.

D e p a r t m e n t o f A g r i c u l t u r e .

M C K E N Z I E . S . ( 2 0 0 4 , S o c ia l S u s ta in a b i l i ty : T o w a r d s S o m e D e f in i t io n s . H a w k e R e s e a r c h I n s t i t u t e . W o r k i n g

P a p e r S e r i e s N o 2 7 , M a g i l l : U n i v e r s i t y o f S o u t h A u s t r a l i a .

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B o a r d .

P A N N E L L , D . J . , S T E W A R T . V „ B E N N E T T . A . . M O N J A R D I N O . M . . S C H M I D T . C . a n d P O W L E S . S . B.

( 2 0 0 4 ) R I M : a b i o e c o n o m i c m o d e l f o r i n t e g r a t e d w e e d m a n a g e m e n t o f L o l i u m r i g i d u m in W e s t e r n

A u s t r a l i a . A g r ic u l tu r a l S y s te m s . 79 , p p . 3 0 5 - 3 2 5 .

P A N N E L L , D . J . ( 1 9 9 0 ) R e s p o n s e s t o r i s k in W'eed c o n t r o l d e c i s i o n s u n d e r e x p e c t e d p r o f i t m a x i m i z a t i o n .

J o u r n a l o f A g r ic u l tu r e E c o n o m ic s . 4 1 . p p . 3 9 1 - 4 0 4 .

R A J K H O W A , D . J . , B A R U A , I. C „ B H U Y A N R. P. a n d Y A D U R A J U . N . T . ( 2 0 0 5 ) W e e d M a n a g e m e n t in

T ea . T e c h n i c a l B u l l e t i n , J a b a l p u r , I n d i a : N a t i o n a l R e s e a r c h C e n t r e fo r W e e d S c i e n c e .

S I V A R A M . B. ( 2 0 0 0 ) P la n ta t io n M a n a g e m e n t in th e N e w M ille n n iu m . S r i L a n k a : N a t i o n a l I n s t i t u t e o f

P l a n t a t i o n M a n a g e m e n t .

S R I L A N K A C U S T O M S . ( 2 0 1 4 ) A n n u a l S ta t i s t i c s - 2 0 1 4 . S r i L a n k a : S r i L a n k a C u s t o m s .

S R I L A N K A T E A B O A R D ( S L T B ) . ( 2 0 1 4 ) T ea M a r k e t U p d a te . 1 0 (4 ) , C o l o m b o : S L T B .

S W A N T O N , C . J . a n d S .F . W E I S E . ( 1 9 9 1 ) I n t e g r a t e d w e e d m a n a g e m e n t in O n t a r i o : t h e r a t i o n a l e a n d a p p r o a c h .

W e e d T e c h n o lo g y . 5, p p . 6 5 7 - 6 6 3 .

T E A R E S E A R C H I N S T I T U T E ( T R 1 ) . ( 2 0 0 3 ) A d v i s o r y C ir c u la r N o . W M -O I. I n te g r a te d W e e d M a n a g e m e n t in

T ea . S r i L a n k a : T R J .

U N - W O R L D C O M M I S S I O N O N E N V I R O N M E N T A N D D E V E L O P M E N T , ( 1 9 8 7 ) O u r C o m m o n F u tu re :

R e p o r t o f th e W o r ld C o m m is s io n o n E n v ir o n m e n t a n d D e v e lo p m e n t . S w i t z e r l a n d : W C E D .

Y I N , R. ( 2 0 0 9 ) C a s e S tu d y R e s e a r c h : D e s ig n a n d M e th o d s . 4 th e d . . S a g e . C A : T h o u s a n d O a k s .

14Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce University o f Sri Jayewardenepura Gangodawilla. Nugegoda E-Muit: ichm(tj}.yp.uc.lk W EB: www.ichrnu.yp.or):, inpl.s/p.ac.lk