Plant Hormones as Mediators of Stress Response in Tea Plants

Plant-Climate Interaction Effects: Changes in the Relative Distribution and Concentration of the Volatile Tea Leaf Metabolome in 2014–2016

“…Tea ( Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze) is a long-lived crop grown in subtropical regions that are vulnerable to climate variability and is predicted to be severely impacted by climate change (IPCC, 2014; Han et al, 2018). The arrival of the East Asian Monsoon rains, an extreme weather event, is occurring earlier, lasting longer and shortening the spring harvest for high quality tea (Ahmed et al, 2014; Kowalsick et al, 2014; Boehm et al, 2016).…”

“…Since tea plants are mostly grown in mountainous areas, elevational differences can also affect tea quality: higher quality generally occurs at higher elevation (Han et al, 2017; Kfoury et al, 2018b). Therefore, it is of great interest to understand the effect of season and elevation over multiple years in order to develop strategies for sustaining high quality tea in the era of climate change (FAO, 2015; Han et al, 2017; Han et al, 2018). Our previous work on tea in Yunnan Province, China reveals striking changes in the distribution and concentration of metabolites in response to differences in precipitation and temperature within a 1-year period (Ahmed et al, 2014; Kowalsick et al, 2014; Robbat Jr et al, 2017; Kfoury et al, 2018a; Kfoury et al, 2018b).…”

Editorial: Responses of Tea Plants to Climate Change: From Molecules to Ecosystems

“…The tea plant, Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze is an ideal model perennial plant for examining climate effects on crops as it is the most widely consumed drink globally after water with notable cultural, dietary, and health values. Tea is cultivated on five continents in diverse types of agricultural systems and supports livelihoods and contributes to regional economies (Han et al, 2018 ). The consumption of tea is linked to its flavor and health attributes which are based on distinct secondary metabolite biochemical profiles comprised of polyphenols, amino acids, alkaloids, terpenoids, and other volatile compounds.…”

“…Drought, low temperatures, pests and diseases, salt, and light are key factors that determine plant performance in existing and new areas of production (Han et al, 2018 ). At the morpho-anatomical level, the plant cuticle plays a major role in regulating water loss and drought tolerance, an attribute that is essential for climate adaptation in many tea-producing areas.…”

Climate-Fungal Pathogen Modeling Predicts Loss of Up to One-Third of Tea Growing Areas

“…However, this study did not include global land suitability and the impacts of fungal diseases on tea crops. Several regional studies examined climate change effects on tea yield and/or quality and also used regression models to predict tea crop yields ( Wijeratne et al, 2007 ; Patra et al., 2013 ; Karunaratne et al., 2015 ; Boehm et al., 2016 ; Duncan et al., 2016 ; Gunathilaka et al., 2016 ; CIAT, 2017 ; Sitienei et al., 2017 ; Ahmed et al., 2018 ; Gunathilaka et al., 2018 ; Han et al., 2018 ; Zakir, 2018 ; Ahmed et al., 2019 ). Karakaya and Dikilitas (2018) dealt particularly with the biochemical, physiological, and molecular defense mechanisms of tea plants against pathogenic fungi under changing climate conditions.…”