The time of skiffing in N.E. India is any time between mid-December and January. Deeper the skiff earlier is the skiffing time.
Skiffing during growing season
Under some unavoidable situation, if the tea bushes cannot be plucked for two to three weeks, it may be required to skiff the bushes. Normally, it is advisable to skiff the bushes as soon as possible at the height of the last plucking and plucking should be followed at weekly round. In order to keep the crop loss to the minimum, skiffing should be completed as far as possible before the first week of September in the plains and the mid-August in hills.