Determination of plant protection problems of tea production in the province of Rize

Survey was conducted to determine the plant protection problems encountered during tea production, plant protection practices used to deal with these problems and approach to organic tea production by tea producers in Central, Çayeli, Pazar, and Ardeşen districts of Rize. Total of 320 farmers participated to the survey (80 farmers per district) and the questionnary consisting of 52 questions.According to the results of the survey, it has been determined that the tea producers generally don't have an important plant protection problem, however two important pests threaten tea production in the region in recent years. One of these pests is the vampire butterfly Ricania simulans (Walker) (Hemiptera: Ricaniidae), which was determined to have entered our country from Georgia. The other is the brown marmorated stink bug Halyomorpha halys (Stål 1855) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae). Besides, it has been observed that our producers have prejudices about the transition to organic tea production and they stated that they do not want to switch to organic agriculture. It is thought that it would be beneficial to organize seminars and training programs in order to change the prejudices of tea producers about organic farming.