Introduction

 Botanical name – Camellia sinensis

 Family – Camelliaceae

 A beverage in South India and China

 Native – South East Asia (China)

 India : North India – 1834 Large scale

South India – 1859-97 (Nilgiris)

 History-H.P.
 Cultivation started in 1849 (Dr. Jameson)
 Govt. Tea Farm at Holta in 1852.
 Introduction of private entrepreneurship in
1860.
 H.P. govt. & Tea Board of India established
4 Co-operative Tea factories: Bir, Baijnath,
Palampur and Sidhwari.
 Global distribution
o S. E. Asia : India, Sri Lanka, Java, Sumatra, Russia,

China, Japan, Indo-China and Taiwan

o Africa : Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Nyasaland

o Other countries : Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Ethiopia,

Malaysia, Mauritius
 Distribution

 India – Eastern part, Southern Western Ghats,

Tamil Nadu, kerala, Karnataka

Also grown on a small scale in Tripura, Karnataka,

Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Sikkim, Bihar,
Manipur, Orissa, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh.

 Largest producer, consumer and exporter

 Tea trade – highly sensitive to small fluctuations

 The tea industry in India is more than 150 years
old, generating a revenue of
Rs 6,000 crore.
 It employs more than 1 million workers directly and
looks after 4 million dependants of these
employees.
 Of the working population directly employed by the
tea gardens, nearly 50% are women.
 The production of tea in India
- 250 million kg in 1947
- 754 million kg in 1991
- 805 million kg in 1999 with just 40% increase
in area.
 Area and Production

States Area (ha) Production (t) Average

Yield
(Kg/ha)
Karnataka 2,060 4,460 2,025
Kerala 34,688 62,000 1,528
Tamil Nadu 38,794 1,12,830 3,295
South India 75,542 1,79,290 3,295
All India 4,36,057 8,05,000 1,641
 Major Tea growing states
 Assam 53%
 West Bengal 23.9%
 Tamilnadu 11%
 Kerala 8.44%
 Composition
 Freshly plucked tea shoots contain:
- 23-26% solid substances,
- about 15% of which insoluble form
(cellulose, lignin & lipid)
- About 1/3rd (34-37%) soluble form
(protein, starch & inorganic salts.
- Remaining (about 50%) water soluble
compounds (catechin group of polyphenols
(Tannins), caffeine, amino acids, sugar, ash,
essential oils and other volatile compounds).
 Botany
 Genus - Camellia
 Original species - C assamica ( Assam jats)
C sinensis ( china jats )
 Natural hybrid - C assamica sub species lasiocalyx
(Indo china or cambod type)
 Being a cross pollinated crop, the present seedlings are
mixture of both the two species
Distinguish characters of Assam & China types`

S.No Assam type China type

1 It is a tree it is a shrub

2 Few robust branches Branches abundant & whippy

3 Large, glossy leaves Small leathery leaves

4 Light to medium green Dark green colour

5 High yield & medium quality low yield & good quality

6 Susc. to drought & frost Hardy & resistant

7 Sparse flowering Profuse flowering

 Varieties
Mostly clonal selections from seedling population
UPASI – 29 clones released

UPASI 2 (Jayaraman suit to all elevation, Drought & wind tolerant

UPASI 3 (Sundaram) Very high yield & quality
UPASI 6 (Brooflands) Well in mid & higher elevation
UPASI 8 (Golconda) High yielding, suit for elevations
UPASI 9 (Athrey) High yield, Tol. to drought, & withstand high pH
UPASI 10 ( Pandian Hardy, resist to drought & wind, suit for high
elevation
UPASI 14 (Singara) Quality clone, suit for high elevation

UPASI 17 A high yield clone

TRI 2024 (Sri Lanka) A high yield clone
TRI 2025 (Sri Lanka) average yielder, hardy clone
 Varieties of H.P.
Two types: Seed Jats and Clones

Seed Jats Clones

Tumsong, TV1, TV9, TV23,

NandaDevi, Tukdah-253,
Kangra Phoobsering-312, Kangra
Local Asha, Kangra Jawala
 Climate
Specific climate required

 Temperature – 16 to 320C

 Annual rainfall – 125 to 150cm

 Distribution – 8 to 9 months

 Relative Humidity – 80% during most part of the year

 Dry atmosphere – not good

 Tea – a calcifuge crop – low Ca requirement but high

Potassium and Silicon requirement
 Soil

 Lateritic, alluvial and peaty soils

 Soil pH - 4.5 to 5.0

 Soil depth – 1.0 to 1.5m

 Well drained, rich in organic matter and N

content.
 Propagation
 Propagated by seeds
and cuttings
 Seeds – rarely used

Soaked in water

Heavy seeds selected and sown

Lifted and planted in poly bags

Germination in 20 to 30 days

9 months old seedlings used for planting

 Vegetative propagation
 0.15 ha Nursery – 1.5 lakh cuttings
 Water source, shade, drainage, protection from wind
and frost, road access
 Grafting
Drought tolerant clones – root stock
High yielding, quality clones – scions

Cleft grafting of single nodal cuttings

Callusing in nursery

Union
 Planting
 Bush clearing
 Drains – soil conservation
 Up & down planting – 1.2 x 1.2m (old)
 Contour planting – Single hedge
– Double hedge

Style Spacing Population/ ha

1. Up and down 1.2 x 1.2m 6,800
2. Contour planting single 1.2 x 0.75 10,800
hedge
3. Contour planting double 1.35 x 0.75 x 13,200
hedge 0.75
Advantages of double hedge

 Early and high yield

 Soil conservation

 Less weed growth

 Efficient cultural practices

 Season - June/ July – S.W. Monsoon
Sep./ Oct. – N.E. Monsoon

 Pit size - 30 x 30 x 45cm

12-15 months old plants planted

 Stalking - avoid wind damage

 After care – mulching (25 t grasses/ ha)

 Dry periods – sub soil irrigation

Shade management
Merits
 Temperature regulated
 Drought and radiation injury minimized
 Soil fertility improved
 Recycling of nutrients
 Even distribution of crop
 As wind break
 Pest incidence reduced
 Add income from timber and fuel
Demerits
 High blister blight
 Competition
 Poor response to fertilizers
In South India – silver oak – permanent shade
 Permanent shade trees
Albizia sinensis A. lebbek
Jacarenda mimosifolia
Leucaena leucocephala
Robienia pseudocacia
Grevillia robusta
• Temporary shade trees
Indigofera teysmani
Gliricidia sepium
Sesbania aegyptica
 Desirable characters of good
shade trees
 Must be an evergreen tree, easy to
propagate, quick growing & deep rooted
characters
 Provide filtered shade & without frequent
topping
 Tolerates wind and frost
 Does not have allelopathic effect
 Has commercial timber values
 Training
Centering of young plants
(removal of growing point)

Secondary branches encouraged

Tip secondaries @ 50-55cm

Territories - encouraged

18-20 months to attain regular plucking

 Pruning
 To maintain convenient height for plucking

 To induce more vegetative growth

 To remove dead wood, knots and interlocked branches

 Depends upon altitude, nature of tea

 Adequate starch reserve in roots – very important – tested

by common Iodine test
 Cut ends are smeared with a paste of Copper oxy chloride
& linseed oil
 Pruned bushes are sprayed with 10% lime solution to kill
the epiphytic growth of moss & lichen & also minimize the
sun scorch
 Different Types of Pruning
Type of Pruning Season Remarks
pruning height
(cm)
1. Rejuvenation 20 - China April Done in old bushes affected with
Jat
pruning – canker and wood rot to invigorate
30 – Assam
Jat May the new healthy branches. Not done
regularly
2. Hard 30 - 45 April- First formative pruning done to a
pruning May young tea
3. Medium 45-60 Aug. – Normal pruning wherever frames
pruning Sep. are healthy
4. Light 60 - 65 Aug. – Normal pruning wherever frames
pruning Sep. are healthy
5. Skiffing 65 Aug. – Mainly to postpone pruning and to
Sep. encourage better frame development
 Steady succession without any cessation
growth – Aperiodic shoots/ primary shoots
 These primary branches produces Flush
shoots or periodic shoots by regular tipping
operation
 Tipping is the removal of terminal portion of
shoots & varies with jats & pruning height
 Tipping height refer to the number of leaves
that must be left above the pruned cut
 Tipping in material refers to that portion of
the terminal shoot which must be tipped off.
Aperiodic shoot in pruned tea bush
Pruning height Tipping height Tipping in
(cm) (cm) material
China Assam China Assam China Assam
hybrid hybrid hybrid hybrid hybrid hybrid
35-45 35-55 5 4 3 leaves & 4 leaves &
a bud a bud

45-55 55-60 4 3 4leaves & 4 leaves &

a bud a bud

55-75 60-75 2 2 4 leaves & 4 leaves &

a bud a bud

- 75 - 1 - 4 leaves &
a bud
 Manuring
 Good response to manuring
 Nutrient removal for 100kg made tea - 10.2, 3.2 & 5.4kg NPK

 30g (NH4)2PO4 20:20 – 35 parts

 K2SO4, MgSO4 – 15 parts

 ZnSO4 – 3 parts

 Dissolved in 10 lit of water

 Applied to 900 plants

 Repeated at 15days interval

Liming
 Leaching of bases

 Continuous fertilization

Factors
pH, Fertilization, rainfall, length of pruning cycle

pH Recommendation
4.5 to 4.9 1.5m.t. / ha
4.0 to 4.4 3.0 m. t. / ha
< 4.0 4.0 m. t. / ha
 Weed Control
 Paraquat @ 1.12–2.25 litres/ha
 2,4-D (sodium salt 80%) @ 1.4kg/ha
 Glyphosate can be used in young as well
as in mature tea fields. it is recommended
@ 2–3litres/ha.
 The volume of water recommended for
weed control in tea fields is 450 litres/ha.
 Plucking

 2-3 leaves and a bud

 Labour intensive

 Plucking of shoot up to mother leaf – light plucking

 Plucking of shoot below mother leaf – hard plucking

 Add one tier of foliage every year

 Plucking interval & plucking standard

Cropping pattern Months Plucking

interval
High cropping or April –June 7-10 days
Rush cropping ( & Oct - Dec
60% 0f total crop
Low cropping or July – sept 12 -15 days
Lean cropping ( & Jan -
40% 0f total crop March
 Consequent to plucking, bush height
increases every year in the order of10
cm over tipping height in the first year,
7.5cm, 7.5cm, 5cm & 5cm over the
previous year height in the 2nd,3rd,4th, &
5th year respectively
 Mechanical shear harvester is
employed to pluck
Yield
 Elevation, clone, management, pruning processes etc
 2000kg made tea/ ha
– low yielding
 2000-3000kg made tea/ ha
– medium yielding
 >3000kg made tea/ ha
– high yielding
Tea manufacturing –
Two types of processing
1.Orthodox method -
Rolling operation is done in a series of rollers
which have rotary tables with battens, jacket for loading
the leaf & pressure cup

2 CTC method (Cutting, tearing and curling)

which has series of pair of rollers mounted in
such a way they rotate in opposite directions & the
clearance between them is so adjusted to crush & tear
the leaves
Both the methods, manufacturing of tea involves
1.Withering – To reduce moisture of leaves –Blowing of artificial
air make the leaves to flaccid condition, take 12-18 hrs
2.Rolling – The cells in the leaves are broken to liberate the sap
containing Polyphenols oxidase, an enzyme, which in the
presence of oxygen, oxidises the polyphenols to produce
theoflavins & thearubigens – responsible for colouring of
tea - 30-40minutes
3.Fermentation – High humidity & proper temperature helpful for proper
fermentation for colour development (golden red colour).
This step decide the quality ie strength, colour & briskness
of tea – 2 hours
4.Drying – aims to stop the Fermentation process &
slowly remove the moisture without a burnt smell
but preserve the inherent quality- by artificial drier
for 30-40 minutes

5.Grading – Remove the stalky fibre & bulk tea is passed

through passed through different sized meshes
used which aid in separation into different grades
 DIFFERENT GRADE
Mesh size Mesh size
Orthodox grade CTC Grades
Pekoe 8 mesh Flowery pekoe (FP) 8 mesh
sieve
Tippy golden orange pekoe 8-12 Pekoe 8-10
(TGOP)
Broken orange pekoe( BOP) 12-16 BOP 10-12
BOP- Fanning's 16-18 Pekoe Fanning's 12-16
BOP dust 18-24 BOP Fanning's 16-20
Dust -I 25-30 Pekoe dust (PD) 20-30
Dust II Below 30 Red dust (RD) 30-40
Super Red dust ( SRD) 40-50
Final dust ( PD) 50-60
Superfine dust (SD) Below 60