Labour in large number is required to pick the leaves.
Explanation
Tea cultivation is a form of plantation agriculture that is characterized by large estates and specific requirements for capital, technical support, and labour.Analysis of Labour Requirements:
- Labour Intensity: Tea is a highly labour-intensive crop. The primary activity involves the plucking of tender tea leaves (typically "two leaves and a bud").
- Manual Requirement: This process requires manual dexterity and care to ensure that the bushes are not damaged and only the correct leaves are harvested for processing. Consequently, it requires a large number of labourers.
- Mechanization: While processing in factories is mechanized, the harvesting (plucking) stage remains largely manual in most high-quality tea-producing regions. Therefore, the assertion that it is highly mechanized with minimal human intervention is incorrect.
- Skill Level: The labour required is primarily for plucking, which requires specific manual skills and endurance rather than engineering expertise.
Key Takeaway: Tea cultivation is an abundant labour-demanding industry, relying heavily on a large, cheap, and skilled workforce specifically for the manual plucking of leaves.