
Tea Cultivation (Full Guide)




Introduction
in this article, I’m going to tell you about the Tea Cultivation
- Origin in China.
- Tannine enzyme is included in tea leaves
- Botanical name- Camellia sinensis
- Family- Theaceae
- Morphology
- Evergreen shrubs or trees.
- Simple leaves.
- Highly cross-pollinated plant.
Different jats
- 1.China jats
- 2.Assam jats
- 3.Indo-China or Cambodia jat
Recommended clones
- 1.TRI 2000 series
- 2.TRI 3000 series
- 3.TRI 4000 series
- 4.Estate cultivars
Cultivation




SOIL & CLIMATIC REQUIREMENT
Soil requirement
- pH – 4.5-5.5
- Red yellow Podsolic, Red Brown Latasol, Immature Brown Latarsol
- Should be deep & permeable, well drain soil
Climatic requirement
- Rainfall- Optimum 2500-3000m – Well distributed rainfall
- Temperature- 18-25 0C
TEA NURSERY MANAGEMENT
Selection of soil
- Gauthamala soil
- Mana soil
- Jungle soil
- Pathana soil
- Subsoil
Fumigation of soil
- Basamid
- Methyl bromide
Alternative for soil
- Coir dust
- Paddy husk
- Refuse Tea
Criteria for site selection
- Well drainage soil
- Flat gently & sloping land
- Irrigate water should free from nematodes
- Proximity to water source
- Absence of heavy shade
- Availability of soil media
- Transport facilities
Propagation
- By seeds
- Vegetative propagation
– Budding
– Grafting
– Layering
– Single nodal cuttings
- Tissue culture
PLANTING MATERIALS
- Type of shoots & cuttings
– Choose active shoots for propagation
– Cuttings are single-node cuttings with one leaf
– Semi-hardwood middle potting of a shoot is suitable for taking cuttings
– Cuttings should be obtained from multiplication plots
– 15-25 shoots can be obtained from one tea shrubs & 3-5 cuttings from one shoots
Propagation of mother shrubs
- Remove terminal buds about 2-3 weeks before taking shoots
- Spray foliar application of Zink sulphate & Urea 2-3% each to break dormancy of auxiliary buds
- When obtaining single node cuttings, Uppercut should be made closer to the auxiliary buds & 2nd cut should be made 2.5-3.8cm below the nodes
- Always cuttings should be inserted into the water to absorption of air bubbles to the xylem
Popular high yield in clones
- TRI 3020 2. TRI 4006
3. TRI 4042 4 .TRI 4049
Planting bags
- (23*10)cm
- 150 Gauges
- Transparent
- Punched few holes on the sides to facilitate drainage
- Both side open
Aftercare operation
1. Watering- twice a day, After 3 weeks reduce watering once a day
2.Weeding- Remove the weeds after 2 months of planting
3.Shading- Use bracken ferns, coir net or polythene covers with net
4.Fertilizer application- After 70-90 days
5.When plants 5 months old
– Restacking
– Training
– Hardening
Soil conservation & rehabilitation




- Drains & terraces.
-Lateral drains
- Construct along the contours
- Gradient 1 in 120
- Slope towards leader drains
- Largeness : 45cm wide & 45cm deep
- Spacing : 6-12cm based on slope & amount RF
Leader drains
1. Stepwise
2. Silted on natural waterways to remove excess water in non-erosive velocity
3. Construct with step wise manner with reversal slope
4. Save the sides & bottom of the drain with stones
5. Construct along the natural drainage lines
Construction of terraces
- On steep lands contour terrace constructed
- Distance between terraces depends on slope the land
- Suitable grasses are planted at uphill side of the terraces
Rehabilitation of lands
-Before planting grasses dolomite be applied to adjust the soil pH to the desirable range of 4.5-5.5
-The dolomite was uniformly distributed on the soil surface
OBJECTIVES
- Improve soil facility
- Improve soil organic matter content
- Control pest & diseases
- Providing a mulch
Planting of tea
- Spacing (1.2 * 0.6)m.
- -Plant density 11,000 plants/ha or 4500 plants/ac
- -Planting holes/trenches
–Size of planting hole
- Top diameter -30cm
- Bottom diameter-22.5cm
- Depth-45cm
-Filling
- Fill 2/3 0f the hole with topsoil
- Two weeks prior to planting
- -Stalking for rootstock shaking by wind
Training & Pruning
- Pruning
-Process to the tea bush at a creation height to control the vertical growth and allow it expanding horizontally for comfortable plucking with renewed and vigorous branching pattern.
- Training
-Aimed at modifying it to form a low bush of good spread and of appropriate height for plucking
Pruning Method
1.Clean pruning – hard pruning system
– all the branches are cut low at a height of (25 to 40)cm
2.Rim lung pruning – pruning height (40-55)cm
– 3-4 healthy branches are left the periphery of the bush at the time of pruning
3. Cut across –the top of the bush is cut level at a height of about (55-70)cm
4.Skiffing-slashing which smoothen the plucking surface & reduce its height by a 5cm
5.Rejuvenation pruning- types of hard pruning carried out when the foundation frame of bushes reaches & unproductive stage
Plucking




- Process of harvesting tea by selective plucking oh tender shoots
- Ideally bud + 2 leaves
- Over mature parts of the shoots
- High fibre content
- Produce off grades
- Have less favourable chemical constitutes
Methods of plucking
- Hand plucking
- Shear plucking
Plucking standards
- Fine plucking- single leaf plucking
- Medium plucking- fish leaf plucking
- Hard plucking- Janam leaf plucking
Plucking interval
- Frequency of plucking
Fertilizer Application
- 3 years- First pruning – T 750
- After first pruning – U 709
Shading
- High shade – Grevillea robusta , Albizzia moluccana
- Medium shade – Glirlicidia sepium , Acacia pruninosa
PEST & DISEASE
Pests
1.Shoot hold borer
2.Live wood termite
3.Tea tortrix
4.Nematodes
Disease
1.Blister blight
TEA PROCESSING




TEA GRADES
- Broken grades
– BOP ( Broken Orange Pekoe )
– BP ( Broken Pekoe )
– BOPF ( Broken Orange Pekoe Fanning )
– D ( Dust )
- Leaf grades
– OP
– P
- CTC Tea grades
– BP1 – PF1
– PF – F1
– D1
Tea production line
- Orthodox Black Tea
- Green Tea
- Instant Tea
- Carbonated Tea
- Oolong Tea




check out my other article:Grapes Cultivation (Full Guide)