Environmental and nutritional requirements for tea cultivation

Abstract

Tea (Camellia sinensis) is an important beverage crop cultivated in the tropics and subtropics under acid soil conditions. Increased awareness of the health-promoting properties of the tea beverage has led to an increase in its level of consumption over the last decades. Tea production contributes significantly to the economy of several tea-cultivating countries in Asia and Africa. Environmental constrains, particularly water deficiency due to inadequate and/or poorly distributed rainfall, seriously limit tea production in the majority of tea-producing countries. It is also predicted that global climate change will have a considerable adverse impact on tea production in the near future. Application of fertilizers for higher production and increased quality and quantity of tea is a common agricultural practice, but due to its environmental consequences, such as groundwater pollution, the rate of fertilizer application needs to be reconsidered. Cultivation of tea under humid conditions renders it highly susceptible to pathogens and pest attacks. Application of pesticides and fungicides adversely affects the quality of tea and increases health risks of the tea beverage. Organic cultivation as an agricultural practice without using synthetic fertilizers and other chemical additives such as pesticides and fungicides is a sustainable and eco-friendly approach to producing healthy tea. A growing number of tea-producing countries are joining organic tea cultivation programmes in order to improve the quality and to maintain the health benefits of the tea produced.Ke y wor d s: aluminium, global climate change, nitrogen fertilizers, organic culture, phosphorus fertilizers, soil pH, water deficiency Abbreviations: C a -atmospheric CO 2 concentration, T a -atmospheric temperature, ESTs -estimated sequence tags, N sh -harvestable shoot density, W sh -harvestable shoot weight, C i -intracellular CO 2 concentration, T l -leaf temperature, P max -maximum photosynthetic rate, T m -maximum temperature, P n -net photosynthetic rate, T o -optimum temperature, PAR -photosynthetic active radiation, ROS -reactive oxygen species, SER -shoot extension rate, SRC -shoot replacement cycle, T s -soil temperature, SWD -soil water deficit, g s -stomatal conductance, SSH technique -suppression subtractive hybridization technique, T t -threshold temperature, TE -transpiration efficiency, VPD -vapour pressure deficit, WUE -water use efficiency

Phylogenetic and Functional Characterization of Culturable Endophytic Actinobacteria Associated With Camellia spp. for Growth Promotion in Commercial Tea Cultivars

“…Natural pathogens, including bacteria and fungi, play a significant role in the production of tea as they may have a negative influence on all stages of growth and development. In addition, the tea plants are perennial shrubs that can grow under varied climatic conditions and is constantly subjected to various environmental stresses, either from excessive soil moisture or moisture deficit (Mukhopadhyay and Mondal, 2017;Hajiboland, 2017). Drought is an important factor that affects various biological processes like membrane integrity, chlorophyll pigment content, osmotic potential adjustment, and photosynthetic activity (Anjum et al, 2011;Li et al, 2017) and subsequently limit growth and development of tea crop.…”

Enhancement of polyphenolic content extraction rate with maximal antioxidant activity from green tea leaves by cold plasma

“…Tea plant ( Camellia sinensis ) is cultivated in the tropics and subtropics (Hajiboland, 2017), and its leaves have also been employed in traditional medicine. Polyphenols constitute the major component in green tea leaves.…”

Comparative Analysis of the Polyphenols, Caffeine, and Antioxidant Activities of Green Tea, White Tea, and Flowers from Azorean Camellia sinensis Varieties Affected by Different Harvested and Processing Conditions

“…The drink, green tea (GT), made from Camellia sinensis L. tea leaves is one of the oldest and most widely consumed non-alcoholic beverages worldwide following water, owing to its pleasant sensory characteristics, scientifically proven beneficial effects on human health, unique sociocultural characteristics [ 1 ], stimulant properties, and relatively low retail price. The tea plant, native to Southeast China, gradually expanded into many tropical and subtropical countries [ 2 ] and, since the last decade of the 19th century, it is also commercially produced in one unique place in Europe, the volcanic São Miguel Island of the Azores Archipelago (Portugal). The organic tea is cultivated in the Azores as a sustainable and eco-friendly approach in order to enrich quality of life and improve human health.…”

“…Final withered weight/initial weight × 100 2. Drying in a solar chamber, except for green tea (drying in oven at 70 • C).…”

“…The values presented for GTs are the average of five samples processed under the same conditions. Different superscript letters are significantly different (p < 0.05) 2. Half-maximal effective concentration 3.…”