Tea Crop Details for Exam

Tea is a fragrant beverage made from the dried or fresh leaves of the evergreen shrub Camellia sinensis, which is indigenous to China, India, and other East Asian nations. The leaves of the Camellia taliensis are also infrequently used to make tea. It is the most extensively drank beverage in the world after water. There are numerous varieties of tea, some of which have a cooling, slightly bitter, and astringent flavour, whereas others have remarkably varied flavour profiles with hints of sweetness, nutty flavour, flowery scent, or grassy flavour. The caffeine in tea is primarily responsible for its stimulating effects on people. Tea plants are native to East Asia, where they most likely first appeared in the southwest Chinese and northern Burmese borderlands. Hua Tuo’s medical treatise from the 3rd century AD has the earliest reliable mention of tea consumption. Tea drinking spread to other East Asian nations as it became popularised as a leisure beverage during the Chinese Tang dynasty. In the 16th century, Portuguese priests and traders brought it to Europe. The English started to plant tea in India on a huge scale throughout the 17th century when drinking tea grew popular with the English.

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About Tea

A species of tiny, evergreen trees or shrubs in the Theaceae family of flowering plants is called Camellia sinensis. Tea is made from the leaves and leaf buds of this plant. Although they are all made from one of the two main varieties grown today, Camellia sinensis var. Sinensis and Camellia s. var. assamica, white, yellow, green, oolong, dark, and black teas are processed differently to achieve varying levels of oxidation, with black tea being the most oxidised and green tea being the least. The C. Sinensis plant is also used to make kukicha (twig tea), however, twigs and stems are used instead of leaves.

History of Tea

Over the course of thousands of years, tea has influenced several cultures. One of the first records of tea consumption dates to China’s Shang period when tea was consumed as a medicinal beverage. The tea plant, Camellia sinensis, is believed to have originated in the region that is now comprised of northeast India, north Burma, southwest China, and Tibet. Hua Tuo’s medical treatise from the third century AD has the earliest reliable mention of tea consumption. Early in the 16th century, Portuguese priests and merchants in China brought it to the attention of western civilisation for the first time. During the 17th century, tea drinking gained popularity in Britain. In order to challenge the Chinese monopoly on tea, the British brought commercial tea production to India. Latitude 29°N and longitude 98°E, the point of convergence of the lands of southwest China, Tibet, north Myanmar, and northeast India, are the precise coordinates where Camellia sinensis originated. From this origination point, the plant was transmitted to more than 52 countries.

Tea Climate Requirements

Tea can be grown in climates that are warm and humid with lots of rainfall. It thrives in regions where annual precipitation ranges between 1150 and 6000 mm. The impact of rainfall is shown in how it affects the soil’s moisture content and promotes vegetative growth. Therefore, the amount of rainfall throughout the course of the year is not as essential as its distribution throughout the year. Tea plants cannot grow in temperatures below 13 degrees Celsius or above 30 degrees Celsius. However, during most of the harvesting season, the air temperature in the plains of North-East India, including Assam, stays over 30 degrees Celsius. Tea is typically grown under shade trees in the plains of northeast India to maintain the temperature below a point where it won’t negatively impact photosynthesis. For improved tea growth, the mean relative humidity for the entire year should not be less than 60%. A tea plant grows best in an environment with a relative humidity of between 80 and 90 percent. The tea bush’s development and dormancy are influenced by day length and temperature. There are no seasonal differences in day length or temperature, nor is there a period of dormancy, in the equatorial zone. When the temperature drops below 13 degrees Celsius and the day duration shortens to 11 hours 15 minutes, tea plants go into seasonal dormancy, also known as winter dormancy.

In Northeast India, farmers can only harvest leaves for around 8 to 9 months of the year, and there is no crop for the remaining 3 to 4 months. However, there is no dormancy for tea grown in equatorial regions, including those up to 16 degrees from the equator, such as South India, Sri Lanka, Kenya, etc. and harvesting is done all year long.. High leaf temperature can be reduced by increasing wind velocity. Because of the shelter provided by the hills on either side of the Brahmaputra valley in Assam, the wind speed is low. As a result, shade trees are grown in tea plantations to reduce the leaf temperature. However, shade is not necessary for places where the weather is hot but the wind speed is also high.

Tea Soil Requirements

Tea is grown in a wide variety of soil types with very distinct geographic origins. The optimal soil for growing tea is the well-drained fertile soil in highlands with a decent depth, an acidic pH between 4.5 and 5.5, and a medium to a high level of organic matter. Tea plants need deep, friable soil, which is why it should be used for cultivation. The soil should be at least 1.5 metres or deeper from the surface toward the bedrock or compact zone. Roots cannot develop in soil which is too shallow. Drought damages tea plants planted in shallow soil more. Tea soils shouldn’t be particularly clayey or sand-filled. Tea can be grown in soil that ranges from sandy loam to silty loam.

Tea Farming Techniques

On the slopes of the cleared hills, where shade trees have already been planted, tea gardens are constructed. In the germination beds, seeds are sowed, and the saplings are then moved to the garden. The garden is routinely weeded and hoed to ensure that the tea bush can grow unhindered. In the gardens, manures and fertilisers are frequently used. There is a lot of use for oil cakes and green manures. Plant pruning is a crucial component of tea cultivation. It aids in keeping the tea bush in the proper form up to a height of approximately a metre and a diameter of roughly the same. The purpose of pruning is to encourage new shoots with soft leaves in abundance and to make it easier for female labourers to remove leaves off the plants.

Tea Physiology

• Tea is an evergreen shrub or tiny tree.
• Normally, when growing its leaves, it is cut to a height of under 2 metres.
• It has a robust taproot.
• Flowers are white and yellow in appearance.
• The flower has a diameter of 2.5 to 4 cm.
• Its flowers have seven or eight petals.
• Leaves measure 4 to 15 cm long and 2 to 5 cm wide.
• The underside of the young, light green leaves is covered with small, white hairs.
• Older leaves have a rich shade of green.
• Tea plants are polymorphic species.
• Its robust taproot produces an endotrophic mycorrhizal surface mat of feeder roots.
• The leaves are lanceolate to obovate and alternating.
• Initially pubescent, leaves can occasionally develop into glabrous, serrate, acute, or acuminate forms.
• Flowers come in groups of 1 to 3.
• Axillary or subterminal cymes contain the flowers.
• Flowers have 5 to 7 petals and sepals and are fragrant.
• The pedicles measure between 5 to 15 mm.
• Each of the 3 to 5 carpellate ovaries has 4 to 6 ovules.
• The depressed capsules are globose, brownish, lobate, and 2 cm in width.
• Each lobe of the capsules contains one to three sub-globose seeds.

Tea Crop Development

Depending on the variety and the location, the life span of the tea plant can be anywhere between 30 years and 50 years, although, the cultivars are not uprooted when it starts giving less produce and new ones are planted in its place. In India, there are two tea growing zones i.e. northeast India and south India. In northeast India, there are 3 to 4 flushes each year and the harvesting is done for the period of around 8-9 months only the rest of the time the plants go into dormancy due to the winter season, whereas in south India, there’s no winter season and harvesting is done throughout the year.

Tea Crop Diseases

Tea Growing Environments

Tea can be grown in a highland that has good drainage. Tea cultivation faces significant challenges from landslides, high soil erosion, waterlogging, and drought. There are places where tea can be grown that have slopes of up to 50%. Contrarily, contour planting and contour draining should be used in places where the slope exceeds 2%. Tea may be grown successfully up to 2500 metres above mean sea level. At higher elevations, the air temperature drops by 2°C for every 300 m of elevation gain. At higher altitudes, tea plants grow slowly. Tea should be grown with extra caution in mountainous locations on the southern side.

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Tea Economy

Although it is also grown in South America, the Black Sea region and the Caspian Sea region, and other places, tea is mostly grown in Asia and Africa. China, India, Kenya, and Sri Lanka are the top four tea-producing nations, accounting for 75% of global production. The world produced 7.0 million tonnes of tea in the year 2020, with China accounting for 42% of the amount and India for 20%. Secondary producers were Sri Lanka, Kenya, and Argentina. India is the largest tea-drinking country in the world, despite the fact that each person only consumes 750 grammes of tea a year. Turkey is the world’s largest per capita consumer of tea, with 2.5 kilos annually per person.

Top 10 Tea Producing Countries

1. China
2. India
3. Kenya
4. Sri Lanka
5. Vietnam
6. Turkey
7. Iran
8. Indonesia
9. Argentina
10. Japan

Top Tea Producing States in India

Most of the tea in India is grown in the northeastern states wherein Assam contributes the most.

• West Bengal.
• Assam.
• Kerala.
• Tamil Nadu.
• Himachal Pradesh.
• Karnataka.
• Arunachal Pradesh.

Indian Tea Growing Zones

India’s tea production is heavily concentrated in a few areas. The three tea cultivation locations listed below are determined based on their importance as tea growers and their location.

Tea as a Food

Tea is a consumable drink prepared from the fresh or dried leaves of the tea plant/shrub. Tea is the most popular produced beverage consumed worldwide, surpassing all other beverages combined, including coffee, soft drinks, and alcohol. Tea leaves and tea essence are also used as flavouring agents in many cuisines around the world.

Tea Nutritional Information

Tea as a herb has a lot of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, but the exact nutritional information of tea(beverage) depends on the way it is prepared.

Tea Health Effects

There is no high-quality evidence that drinking tea delivers major benefits other than perhaps increased alertness, which is an effect caused by the caffeine in the tea leaves, despite the fact that health benefits have long been supposed to exist. Clinical research on tea’s capacity to reduce the risk of human diseases has been undertaken extensively in the early 21st century, however, there is no solid scientific proof that drinking tea has any impact on disease or enhances health. Boiling water to prepare tea can help reduce waterborne infections by killing dangerous bacteria in areas lacking access to safe drinking water. Aluminium consumption makes up a sizable component of the average person’s diet. Fluoride is present in all tea leaves, however mature leaves from the same plant might have fluoride levels that are 10 to 20 times higher than those of young leaves. Tea includes oxalate, which binds to free calcium in the body and, if consumed in excess, can lead to kidney stones. Additionally, theanine and the stimulant caffeine make up around 3% of the dry weight of tea. Tea contains caffeine, a moderate diuretic. Tea with caffeine may increase mental clarity. According to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), there is very little evidence to back up the idea that drinking green tea may lower the chances of developing breast and prostate cancer.

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