Assam Tea Growers May Take AI Route To Recovery

Drones can address shortage of workers as well as spray hazardous pesticides with precision

- Rahul Karmakar

The leaves in your cup of tea could soon be plucked by a pair of robot-assisted hands.

India’s oldest tea company has begun the process of deploying artificial intelligence (AI) to help take the industry to a sustainable future from its ‘past perfect’ present state.

Investing in robotic drones for precision treatment of a diseased tea bush and implanting molecular markers in leaves to develop traits for mass production will not lead to retrenchment, insisted the Assam Company India Limited (ACIL), which has depended on laborers for 180 years.