Tea cultivation

Writer: Shreya Bogati

BSc.Ag , Undergraduate

Jibika College of Agricultural Sciences

Itahari, Nepal

Botanical name =Camellia sinensis

Family= Camelliaceae

Origin= Southwest China

Tea being important cash crop of Nepal , is the world second most drink beverage. It’s the go-to drink whether the occasion be a headache, bad mood, or unexpected guests. It is prepared from the tender/young leaves and unopened buds of the evergreen TeaPlant. History reveals that the first Tea bushes in Nepal were grown from seeds which were given as a gift by the Chinese Emperor to the then Prime Minister Jung Bahadur Rana .Tea is grown in 38 countries around the world and China being the largest producer in term of area and production. According to NTCDB (2019/2020) , tea cultivation in Nepal was under 16905 hectare area with total production of 24118.27 MT (highest quantity produced in Jhapa) and the total export and import quantity was 11185.2 MT & 218.63 Mt respectively. Nepal’s tea mainly exported to Australia , Canada , Germany India , United states of America ,etc whereas Nepal also import tea from Bangladesh , China , Italy, India, Malaysia , etc. Government of Nepal has also declared five districts, Jhapa, Ilam, Panchthar, Tehrathum and Dhankuta as “Tea Zone”. And Nepali tea is collectively trademarked as ‘Nepal Tea, Quality from the Himalayas’ to increase the credibility of it in the global market and assure competitive quality of the product.

The demand for tea is increasing in global market due to rise in awareness of the health benefits.

Some of the benefits are as follows;

Caffeine contain in tea stiumulates the central nervous system which increases the mental alertness and reduces fatigue.

Flavonoids being good source of antioxidants reduces the risk of heart diseases.

It also protects skin from damage and act as antibacterial agent.

Tea is a good source of essential micronutrients like Mn, Zn, CA and Vitamin B, C, E and K.

It inhibits the growth of oral bacteria and enzymes responsible for formation of plaque. It is a natural source of fluoride.

Green tea can increase fat burning and boost metabolic rate.

Cultivation Practices:

Climatic requirement:

Tea is mostly grown in sub- tropical to tropical areas upto 2000 meter above sea level. Area with well distributed annual rainfall of 1500-2000 mm and atmospheric humidity 80% in most of the time is suitable. Optimum temperature of 20-27 degree celcius and minimum temperature not less than 7 degree celcius is preferred. As direct sunlight is congenial for tea production so, filter shading should be provided.

Soil requirement:

Alluvial and peat soil with soil depth 1-1.5m is desirable. The soil pH should be within the range of 4.5-5.5. Soil of tea cultivation area should be abundant in Iron and Almunium.

Propagation:

Tea can be propagated through seed , cuttings and grafting.

Cuttings of semi- hard wood cutting of 3 cm with healthy mother leaf and axillary bud in which rooting occurs in 10-14 weeks.

Brown seeds extracted from fruit berries are sowen which germinates after 30 days in seed bed and then hardened in polybag and planted in field after a year.

Cleft grafting is also practiced in tea.

Planting:

Tea is planted either in May-June or in September-October by contour system with single hedge spacing 1.2 * 0.75 m and double hedge spacing 1.35 *0.75* 0.75 m . Plants of 12-15 months are planted in the pit of 30*30*45 cm. Stalking is immediately done to prevent the wind damage.

Manuring:

Nutrient 100-140Kg N, 50-80 Kg P and 150-210 Kg K per ha is recommended. Half dose of nitrogen and full dose of P and K is applied in Nov/Dec and remaining half N is applied during May/June.

Weeding:

Yield loss in tea due to dicot weed is 18% and moncot weed is 21% . So , For dicot weeds paraquat @ 1.2 lit/ha is sprayed and for monocot weeds, 2,2- Dichloro propionic acid @ 2-3 liters/ha is used.

Training and pruning:

In young plants centering is done to induce secondaries and when it reach 60 cm, tipping is done to induce the tertiaries. Rejuvination , Hard ,Medium , light and skiffing pruning is carried out as per requirement in the month of April - May or August – September during the period of adequate soil moisture present.

Irrigation:

Since it is a rainfed crop, drift or sprinkler irrigation is carried out to increase the yield.

Plucking:

Plucking consists of harvesting 2-3 leaves and bud. It can be done in rush period i.e during April June and Oct-Dec and during lean period i.e July-Sep and Jan-March.

Yield:

Generally , 2000-3000 kg/ha made tea ,CTC tea 0.65MT/ha and Orthodox tea is 0.3 MT/ha can be obtained.

Processing :

CTC Tea method:

First, withering is done to remove 15-20% moisture from leaves which takes 12-18 hours.

Leaves then passes through sifter to remove unwanted branches and to the rotorvance for crushing.

Rolling is then done by passing 4-5 CTC roller for 30 minutes.

Then it is spread for 1 hours in a tray maintaining humidity and temperature.

It is then dried to the moisture of 2-3% for 30 minutes.

At last grading is done.

Orthodox method:

First , withering is done and the leaves are rolled in the roller for 30-40 minutes.

Then it passes to the sifter for the purpose of cooling , aerating and separating the leaf mass.

It is then spread in floor or rack for 3-4 hours for fermentation.

And finally it is dried, sorted, graded and sold loose or in packets.

From this method , black tea , green tea ,olong tea ,etc are obtained.

Since , Nepal’s Tea is recognized as unique and of superior quality in global market due to it’s diversified geography and climatic conditions and it’s demand is raising every year. Despite this fact, its production and productivity is very low due to inadequate use of organic and bio-fertilizers, quality improvement in planting materials, proper analysis of soil, and energy conservation for improvement in processing. Nepali tea also fails to reach international market due to its absence of proper branding and advertising strategy. So, the government should pay attention towards scientific plantation methods and focus has to be made on the organic tea cultivation. The Government should also be strongly committed and dedicated for quality tea production and export promotion. There is a great potential of Nepal to be ranked in major country to export the best tea in global market if the problems above are addressed.